Jamie Jonkel is a Missoula native who spent his childhood in the Canadian wilderness before returning to Montana. His late father Chuck Jonkel is a legend within his own rights, a grizzly bear expert and enthusiast who acted as major proponent during a defining era of environmental policy. Jamie grew up watching his father’s deep love of bears and his work with the Border Grizzly Project that now encompasses parts of Canada, Idaho, and Montana. Since then, Jamie has been all over the world passionately working with wild predators like bears, wolves, and large cats for more than two decades professionally. His official job title is the Bear Manager for FWP, but he is an expert in many more respects. The amount of research and information that Jamie has produced throughout his career has been instrumental to the knowledge of both predator and prey. 

The area that Jamie covers is tremendous. There are countless demands that a bear manager faces, and Jamie is the main point of contact in the entirety of Missoula County, from Lolo to Condon. Jamie grapples with nature and politics, both of which can be equally unpredictable and unforgiving. His tasks have ranged from managing habitat, responding to bear encounters or activity, and controlling bear buffer zones. For conservation efforts, Jamie commented that “[w]hat gives me hope is that we have some federal land here in Montana, Wyoming, Rocky Mountain West, and it’s still very intact. And I hope that the people living in the Rocky Mountain West realize what we have. The east coast, the west coast are so hammered it probably won’t come back, but here in the Rocky Mountain West we still have everything pretty intact, and I’m hoping we can preserve that into perpetuity”.

The passion that Jamie has shown throughout his life for wildlife and wilderness is just as obvious as his accolades. In addition to his demanding career, he advocates for public services like proper bear education, bear proof equipment, recreational safety practices, and much more. Not only does he excel at this job, but he spends his spare time sharing his knowledge with the greater public, creating a “bear smart” community that fosters a harmonious relationship between human and bear. With a large influx of urbanization and tourism, Jamie’s work with conservation and management is more important than ever.

Biography by  Kali Zaglauer