This is a continuation of a CREO 2025 award. Climate change, increased human development, and changes in natural food availability contribute to American black bear (Ursus americanus) use of human-inhabited areas and can elicit human-bear conflict. Washington’s Methow Valley has seen an increase in both climate change-fueled wildfires and residential development over the past years. In addition, the phenology and distribution of wild berries from fruiting shrubs, which are an important natural food for black bears, are changing as summers in the Pacific Northwest get hotter and drier. These combined influences have led to marked increases in human-black bear conflict in the Methow Valley, including property damage, public safety concerns, and high management cost from the human perspective. Conversely, for bears, conflict often results in mortality from vehicle collisions or lethal removal. The Methow Valley is currently in a position to examine and mitigate these factors before conflict becomes a widespread problem. This award will support a second season of coordination of an ongoing community science program that surveys phenology, abundance and crop success of the naturally occurring berry shrubs important to black bear diet; a trail camera study aiming to document black bear use of natural berries in relation to factors such as berry abundance and proximity to human development; and continued community outreach with current information on best practices for coexisting with black bears. ($20,000)