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I don't think this is exactly true. "Science", the institution, with the capital S, may be divided. "science", the process, with the little s, is not. Let me explain: "Science" has decided bigfoot does not exist. They start with the conclusion they wish to support, then cherry-pick, nit-pick, etc the PGF to eliminate or devalue any evidence which doesn't support the foregone conclusion, then they analyze what is left and find the predetermined conclusion. When "science", with the little s, the process, is applied to the PGF, the conclusion consistently favors authenticity. What you'll see, when "Science" addresses the topic, is essentially a series of strawman arguments. They very clearly do not accurately represent what is in the film, but when those essentially irrelevant arguments are shot down, they are presented to us as conclusive proof of hoax, misidentification, etc. We have to remember that they are NOT proof because they are not relevant, not representative of the film content. It is trickery to support that same ol' predetermined conclusion. MIB

Part of the problem of getting scientists to look into something is that graduate students need to get the blessing of their departments to take on a project for credit. So in a way the high priest department heads are controlling who studies what. I knew a PHD candidate who wanted to do a study that questioned the way higher education was taught. His thesis was toxic and he was not allowed to enter the doctoral program. Propose a study that is critical of human created global warning and you will be blown out of the water. That is scientific heresy and will be until the glaciers are closing in on Manhattan Island again. Since bigfoot does not exist, propose a population density study and you will be laughed out of the department head's office. Some of what is studied is related to the availability of grant money. Most grad students or PHD's are not independently wealthy. Find a benefactor and you might be allowed to take on controversial topics. One of the major problems with bigfoot research is that it is primarily being done by amateurs, who do not have the right backgrounds, and have to rely on their own funding and lack of available time. A team of qualified, dedicated, funded professionals might be better able to advance bigfoot research. That does not necessarily mean the right people are all scientists but they need to be involved to have credibility. All one has to do is study the history of the Manhattan Project development of the Atomic bomb and you can understand why a project staffed by academics is very similar to trying to herd cats. Not that being successful with bigfoot research will be that costly, but it appears to me that the project is well beyond the means of most individuals. I myself have had a constant stream of ideas to attack field work, but I cannot begin to fund them. At least I am not sequestering myself from other researchers and sharing what ideas I have on the forum. It seems the Olympic Project and other groups are sequestered and keep a tight lid on their findings. The only way we seem to find out anything is leaks from within the organization and what they choose to discuss at conferences. Bigfoot does not belong to them or any other organization.

I thought this was interesting.

Excellent explanation. I agree fully. So the bottom line is that the science of Science isn't science at all. It's an ideology or religion, making the leaders of Science (those little bald headed mystery men carrying their unorganized briefcases from board meeting to board meeting) nothing more than organized criminals or chief priests. This does not explain or justify the complete and haughty refusal to fund any accredited look into the phenomenon. It is completely left to unfunded amateurs. It is not the subject that is circular. It's the route to official discovery.

Rhetorical, I assume? Because from what we've seen, obviously the answer is yes. Just a thought .. I do not think challenging the scientific community will work, people can individually, quietly, opt out. The challenge, if issued to a specific member of the community might go farther. Even at that, that person would have to have budget to make the attempt and I think they can, honestly and fairly, decline if they do not. So in a way Meldrum, or whoever, would have to themselves provide the funding for the person they are challenging if we really want to see that person's very best effort. Kinda circular, but if we don't do the circle, the same fault I see can be seen against us. MIB

Challenge science to replicate the suit, the motions, and the relative dimensional body ratios of Patty. Science will fail. And they may not admit their conclusions when they do fail. Dr. Meldrum should be insisting on this real-world challenge. But he isn't. He will write a book about it instead, and even after that he has not pressed anyone to the point of actual replication of the subject in the film. Has anyone? And would science be afraid of such a challenge. And if science make excuses for not engaging in this kind of science, because gait analysis, which I do believe has been done, was short of the creation of the suit according to it's ratios and putting everything together in one specific study. Hmmmmmmm....where to go with this........and to whom. See? there's more than one way to argue this existence thing.

That's a good question. There is not a one size fits all answer. It depends on us, individually, the resources we have, the connections we have, the opportunities we have. There are doors open to you that are likely closed to me, there are doors open to me that are probably closed to you. We each have to identify what we, individually, have at our disposal. Then we have to recognize what kind of evidence, quantity, and quality, it takes to leverage those opportunities. Then we have to go find it. MIB

Welcome , Judge & Eastern Slopes !

USGS does LIDAR https://www.usgs.gov/news/national-geospatial-program-garners-elevation-award Posted in another thread

https://www.usgs.gov/mission-areas/ecosystems Yep, who would of thought USGS did anything biological/ecological/molecular/DNA wise Power-packed website for sure The lidar program at this address would seem to hold promise too: https://www.usgs.gov/news/national-geospatial-program-garners-elevation-award

For me it does. If we can send people to prison for life on the same clues we have for Bigfoot’s existence it makes me wonder If anything would ever be enough for science.

Greetings, I grew up near Rocky Mountain House, about an hour from Nordegg. Strangely, despite growing up near what is considered a 'hotspot' for activity, I never heard much about bigfoot. As I grew older, I started noticing posts on Alberta hunting forums about encounters and began paying more attention. Many of these posts were from grizzled old rednecks, not the type to make this kind of thing up. Some posts were half-embarrassed, like "I know it sounds like BS and you won't believe me, but this is what happened...", others were far more matter of fact. These were guides and trappers in the Sundre/Caroline areas and further down the Forestry Trunk road. Their stories were numerous. To them the bigfoot were part of the bush. An encounter was like one with a cougar or grizzly: noteworthy and cool/scary, but not in any way supernatural. The interest of legitimate outdoorsmen like Stroud made me even more intrigued. I have no plan to go searching for these creatures, assuming they are out there. As an fisherman/camper/outdoorsman I like to understand my surroundings and be prepared as well as possible for what I may encounter, be it animal, vegetable, mineral, or weather. I like to learn from knowledgeable people, and I like politeness and respect. This place seems to also value those things.

@BRB - Beautiful! It does fit perfectly in there with lots of space for additional items to be kept organized. Congrats! @Redbone - That's too bad about the zipper. I hope you find a replacement case. The $7.95 Condor H2O case arrived today. I am favorably impressed and it fits the thermal, two battery packs, and a voice recorder. It is well cushioned but I added additional padding so the thermal is safe. It has molle webbing throughout which will make attaching it to a backpack or chest pack a breeze. I be thrilled with it at $30+ but for less than $8 it's a steal.

Interesting question. I would not say I've heard bird calls I mistake for sasquatch or vice versa. I spent roughly 15 minutes, or maybe it was 10, or 20, but some extended period, exchanging whistles with "something" that could count and understood taking turns and exchanging roles of lead and follow. They were not "bird calls", they were quiet whistles and they were sort of dead flat ... a softer note, not the ringing note of birds, and they did not rise or fall. Just a "wheet" whistle, short, constant pitch. I have one interesting bit of audio which puzzles me. As a bit of trickery, I put it up on a bird site asking what sort of bird it was. The responses from the birders reject it as a bird and suggested it was a fox. I did the same on a mammals site where I was told it absolutely was not a fox, it was a bird. I shared it with a younger family member who said "howler monkey, that's exactly what I heard at the Denver zoo last week". Now, have listened to howler monkey recordings, and while sometimes close, to me it isn't the same. For now, it is a puzzle. Give it a listen if you wish. It requires good headphones, room speakers, especially on a computer or, God forbid, your smart phone, absolutely do not do it justice. Also notice the suspicious wood knock following the call. Click here for the recording ... This call was one of a handful that came in a period of a few minutes. One of them has a strange 2 syllable response following it. Whoop! Hey-ay! I find it intriguing. MIB

Yes, I do discount the majority of folks , they are targeting/ focusing on something that is nothing like the Sasquatch. When a deer hunter is out in the wild, he is focused on locating and dispatching deer, not watching for the Loch Ness monster, it is not real in in perception so anything related is likely something else. It takes overt and in your face interaction or sign to gain consideration regarding sign from a well 40+ year hunter/guide. If you want to talk about a biologist or someone under governmental pay then I can easily point to a tough sell where job security faces nobility. I know of several biologists, forest managers and park rangers that have had experiences but they fear the consequences of even open discussion behind their name. John Mionczynski is a great example, he was told to drop the topic or be looking for a new line of work. That being said, I have been offered information from people that have found explainable sign or encounters but these tend to be people that spend an unusual amount of time in the wilderness ( more than 140 days a year ). Many of these people have a very hard time reporting their events and even when they do, they can't fully wrap their head around it enough to decide that Sasquatch could explain the situation. Many times they tell a friend or relative who contacts me and I reach out to them, there is rarely a light-bulb moment where they turn and decide to invest in Sasquatch pursuit. Peter Byrne and Robert W. Morgan are the only examples I can thing of that have done something similar to what you suggest, should they have had the capability and technology we have today then they perhaps would have made ground. Many skills are missing, a deer hunter is following an animal of known behavior the he can study. Deer hunters ( I am also a deer hunter, both rifle and bow ) target transitions looking for thickets/swamps along trails in areas of high caloric volume in the form of agriculture access. Deer are concerned of a very general form of ambush from cougar at a high point and by canines from bedding locations. These are known behaviors that are capitalized upon in the time of the breeding cycle of ungulates. We know basically zip about sasquatch lifestyle but they surely know loads about ours, this is not apples to apples here. Deer are not actively concerned about humans and their intentions, they also do not plan like higher primates. Think of this in chess terms. Sasquatch seem to take human behavior into account ( reports demonstrate ) as I pointed out in my point - 2 about intelligence. In primates you have to consider your body language, general activity, method of entry, method of attraction to not appear as a trap and also collect an extraordinary amount of information to find the proper location at the right time to encounter the species of interest. Look at Jane Goodall if you need an example, she even had her field operations paid for with no real family responsibility or exterior job to part her field time and it took years to just even get close enough to get photos of chimps. To answer your last question - No, not one informed soul with a high degree of focus has been able to put the level of time, resources and commitment on Sasquatch that Jane Goodall did with chimps ( not even on the same playing field as Sasquatch anyway ). I pray often for the day that I should have such a chance.

I think it has to do with a variety of factors. 1 - Very low population and possibly even being on the brink of extinction. * Note- cougar number estimates are at about 30,000 in the US ( not including Canada ), has anyone here tried to film a cougar in an active pursuit ? ( I have ) It is difficult, and this with the use of a complete list of known/predictable habits in a simple animal ( something with a small brain comparatively ). 2 - Based on my interactions that they are naturally very shy and intelligent ( near human ). These creatures in most cases want nothing to do with humans in most cases, the instances of calm/curious approach seem to be under the presumption of the people being a non threat ( sleeping, hiking, occupied with XYZ ). 3 - The truth about the number of people in active pursuit. Most people here, Facebook and even on the conference podium are NOT real researchers. The majority of these people are simply Bigfoot enthusiasts who maybe spend 8 days a year out looking for tracks along popular hiking trails or near their favorite lake that looks " squatchy ". This in truth is a hobby or small interest compared to the other throws of life. I would put money down that maybe 5% - 10% of those who claim the title actually put in any serious amount of effort, money and time into research. Not very many needles in the haystack and what few that exist are actively avoiding the very tiny number of people searching.

I really don't think a single answer or factor is the magic answer, but I will rank them and comment on each: Are bigfoots too rare? I am very confident that these creatures are very rare. I really don't think there are many more than 5000 continent wide. Considering their huge range, which also holds approximately 1 million black bears, this makes for extremely low density. This is probably the primary reason why they are hard to catch. Are they dying out? I suspect they are, very slowly. I suspect their density was higher 1000 years ago, but we may never know that for sure. Are they migrating north to Canada? I believe they are becoming less dense in the American Lower 48 just like most larger mammals. As the human population increases, other large mammals are under increasing pressure. Canada, especially 150 miles and more north of the US border, holds many fewer humans and is a safer environment for larger mammals. Do bigfoots have super keen senses and brain power? When American immigrants met native Americans on the push west, they believed Indians had almost super keen senses in the wilds. Compared to city folk, they did. In a similar sense, modern man does not have the same senses that a prehistoric hominid would have in the wild. I believe in the case of sasquatches versus Homo sapiens, this is the case. Do they hide in steep mountain hide outs? This factor is closely related to their intellect and ability to survive in the wilderness. Yes, they probably inhabit the most wild areas that have no Homo sapiens there. There are probably more than one reason for this too. There are likely to be more resources for them to eat, and fewer humans to hide from. Do they detest humans which motivates them to hide better? I don't think it's as much hatred as it is fear and wisdom. All animals hide from us, Because we behave like super predators. However, park animals who do not see our predatory behavior, so they behave as if we are tourists, which we are.

How are you going to mark/layout an event? Track/track way measurements? Plastic tent stakes !!!! About a buck apiece, Available in several colors. The top is sliced by a saw. A plastic mallet ( tent stake mallet ) is used to drive them in if you can't push them with your hand. Old CD's with contact paper for labels/messages works. Alphabetically or numerically lay out your find. For example, numbers; odd for left feet, even for right. Location A, location B. Messages for associates. Color code importance or beginning/end. Watch your P's and Q's. The sawing is ugly because the plastic melts. The stakes will accept a flexible tape if you need an anchor point. See the last images. When the tape is pulled through the stake, subtract the amount that is buried. The below image is 10 centimeters to be subtracted. The same amount on the standard side is about 4". Don't use these stakes if you are looking for Dracula at midnight.

Too much unsteady video. There are many 'foul-it-up yourself' videos on you tube. I made this as an example for shaky people. I have seen versions using a flat washer. This unit is for boots and knees. The stop knot is offset so if one kneels on this, the knot is not jammed into a knee. The acrylic was a piece of scrap. The line is strong and does not stretch. The quick disconnect camera plate is just an example but all my cameras are set up with them for trekking pole, tripods, trail cam mounts and chest pack. With or without eye bolts, the QD plates are set up for ground wires.

Various measuring devices are available for field work. I prefer an open frame flexible tape for long distance. A typical tape measure falls over on a slope or irregular terrain. My fav is a pocket rod, in metric. The pocket rod is the yellow housing with arrow on top, 3rd in from upper left. Below are the hook ends. Substantial hooks. The metric pocket rods are easier to see at distance. One side is red ink, opposite side is black. The metric type is 2 meters. Below is the tail end. One pulls the tape out of the housing for use. Then, just stuff it back in. Hook ends. The below side by side lay out in visible light is for infrared light comparison. Some members may not be familiar with infrared light on a 'red' object. You don't use the red side in front of your trail camera. The below image is infrared.