Catch film by 3 locals

Documentary focuseson grizzly bear study

A filmmaker from Whitefish will be screening a documentary June 7 and 8 on a grizzly bear population study in the Northern Continental Divide ecosystem.

Bryan Miller, a 1994 Whitefish High School graduate, will show his film, "Barely Enough," at 7:30 p.m. both days at the O'Shaughnessy Cultural Arts Center in Whitefish.

The 40-minute film focuses on a massive study that was launched during summer 2004 by U.S. Geological Survey researcher Kate Kendall and a force of more than 200 field volunteers.

The musical score for the film was composed by Ryan Hughes, a 1995 Flathead High School graduate, and it is narrated by Justin Alderson, also from Whitefish.

The study involved setting hundreds of scent-baited sites surrounded by barbed wire, and then collecting bear hair samples from the sites for genetic analysis. That analysis, which is under way, is expected to produce an unprecedented grizzly bear population estimate for a sprawling 6-million-acre study area.

The film focuses on Kendall, fellow researcher Jeff Stetz, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grizzly bear recovery coordinator Chris Servheen, Johann Otter, who survived an attack by a grizzly bear, and teams of technicians that carried out the field work.

The $4 million project has reached international recognition as the largest DNA study conducted on bears.

Both showings of the documentary will have short question-and-answer sessions afterward with Kendall and Stetz.

Tickets will be on sale in advance at Toggery stores in Whitefish and Kalispell and at Glacier Wilderness Guides in West Glacier. Tickets cost $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, and $3 for children 12 years of age and younger.