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Let's say someone has developed an interest in sasquatching. They see things on TV and want to participate but, never having led an outdoor life, they ask themselves -- where do I start? None of my friends of family are believers. I think a BFRO expedition would be an awesome way to segue into that world. How is it any different than paying a photographer to teach you how to use a manual camera, a ski instructor showing you how to downhill ski, an artist teaching how to paint, or even an attorney for advice? We all have to begin somewhere and if no one in your life has any experience with sasquatching, you pay for it. I call that a smart thing to do. People have to recognize, and accept, that they don't know what they don't know. If it's a painting, and you do it on your own and fail, you've wasted some materials. If you venture into the woods, trying to be emulate the bigfooting you saw on TV, and fail, you could end up on the ugly side of a SAR rescue. In the end, they may develop friendships which allow them to go sasquatching again and again as a member of BFRO or a local group of similarly-interested people. Friendships develop and flourish. That, to me, is a very small deposit to make for a large payoff in the future.

I think they’ve done more good for this subject than bad, inadvertently or not. The tv show was just that, a tv show, no more and no less. Moneymaker gets a lot of bad press, some of it maybe warranted, but you can never knock the guys passion for the subject itself, and I respect that in a person even if I don’t necessarily agree with all he says. Their database deserves a heck of a lot of credit and praise too, and for that alone they get my thumbs up personally.

Um, those are found in the Paranormal section. Bigfoot whisperers. Or not. YMMV

I have heard that but it was not the case on the expedition I was on. That means either people are maliciously attacking the BFRO for petty reasons or the group I went with is particularly good. We did hear some interesting sounds which were investigated. Those from a couple directions were deemed most likely coyote and those from one direction were deemed probably humans and dogs since there was a campground in that direction. We found a couple interesting track-like shapes but they were in crushed lava cinder, indistinct, and no claims were made about their origin, rather, we formed a line and hiked down the hill slowly looking for more and better tracks which were never found. We said "hmmmm." About half of the total group was BFRO, a couple of official expedition leaders, the others in support roles. Those in support roles did some presentations including track casting and gear suggestions. Of the paying participants, most were experienced local researchers, a couple were from out of area, there for brainstorming and connecting with others with similar interests. I think there were 2-3 people total who where not already actively involved in bigfooting. These are not people you'd "snow" or sell snake oil to and our BFRO hosts didn't try. The expedition was 3 years ago I think, time flies ... and I"m still in touch with all but a couple people in one form or another. I got what I expected, very definitely got my money's worth. If you can't afford $300-$500 .. something is wrong or bigfoot isn't as much a priority as you make it out to be. Honest truth, if you can't scratch that together within a month or two, never mind a couple years planning, you've taken a job that won't pay enough to retire on. MIB

Snipe hunting for adults. And what is the price of admission?............$500?

I've used their database to find new places to explore and do my own searches across the western US

One of my daughters is a member. I am not a fan. I do like reading the reports. They don't want anything to do with me. Not a believer. Definitely pro kill. Emily says I don't get a third strike.

Really curious about this! I'm an old timer who never found Bigfoot and I absolutely love that description. It was in a recent edited post. Was at Bluff Creek in 1972 and lived in Oregon through the 70's. Ordered Roger Patterson's book back in high school. Anybody else have a copy? And of course all of John Green's books. Looking back a great time in my life. Never found anything at Bluff Creek, actually stayed at Happy Camp for a month. Only able to check out one report while in Oregon that I thought it was credible. Would love to hear about how many other people were active back then. Such a different world today. Also seems like some of the best evidence came from back then even if you don't include the Patterson film. Really thought back then that the answer would finally be known by now. But after all these years still nothing. We can only hope!

I have no problem, whatsoever, with the BFRO charging whatever they can get for allowing someone to participate in an expedition. If the BFRO could charge $5,000 per person, I would applaud them. There are no victims here, there are only winners. There were those who provided a service and those who were willing to hand over their hard-earned money for that service. Amen. Last time I checked my accounting records, no one has ever paid me a nickel to take them on an expedition. Kudos to the BFRO. For purposes of full disclosure....I am not a member of BFRO and have never met anyone who is.

To me, paying that much seems ridiculous. However, even though it's not my cup of tea, these are adults and they can make their own decisions and spend their own money.. If they want to get involved with the BFRO then more power to them. I find Moneymaker a bit abrasive, but let's be honest here. They are the biggest game in town. They're going to spur a lot of jealousy. I was critical in the past about their pay for play, but I honestly don't know how much money they make and what they do with it. Nor is it any of my business. Again, I don't know MM and I am definitely not a fanboy, but what's with the allegations of substance abuse? How's that relevant to the organization? Sounds like sour grapes and character assassination.

Yeah, there's enough acrimony out there, in bigfoot-land, to go around. We don't need to contribute. JMHO

LOL! Another guy who gives his guns names! There aren't many of us out there.

What's your point here? Bash the BFRO and spread internet rumors about donors and substance abuse problems? If you've got a vendetta, just be forward about it.

The Ohio Conference is on from what I heard, that prompted my post since it's one of the bigger ones.

Is Moneymaker really Matt's unfortunate real last name? Only Matt Hoaxer could be worse. I like the BFRO. Their forum is run by paranoid people though. Or there are just so many nut cases in this interest group that warrant that heavy handedness.

I don't think the folks attending the last Ohio conference quarantined for 14 days. May as well rent a place to live if people are doing that. Unless something changes, I would expect all conferences to pause. It will take a while for folks to adapt to online or not doing them at all.

I don't do much walking around at night so I went with thermal instead of night vision . I like thermal because I'm looking for a warm creature so it's easier for me to spot something like that with thermal instead of night vision . I also like using the thermal looking at shorelines in the summer time on rivers and lakes . You see so much game coming out to to take a drink or dip from a quiet boat using a trolling motor . Just haven't seen a bigfoot yet. I have a ATN Thermal OTS 640 1 - 10 HD

I went with a Sionyx color night vision monocular. I needed the ability to record video and sound along with still photos. Once you get the settings dialed in, the refresh rate is pretty decent. Gen 3 night vision is better in complete darkness, but the color option appealed to me.

Definitely, but it sounds like you're quite a bit older than I am. I was introduced to the topic via reading some copies of The Bigfoot Bulletin back in the early 70s on my great grandfather's porch. Many of the write ups from Coos and Curry counties involved people I knew of via my grandfather (mom's dad) and great grandfather (dad's mom's dad) who seemed to respect them as being solid citizens. Both grandpa's were. So when I found a track line in '74, though I was only 11 .. 10 going on 11, maybe ... I knew exactly what I was looking at and I didn't want to be right there anymore. I had an extended sighting in '76 .. probably 5 minutes-ish? .. long enough for it to cover over a quarter mile moving down the middle of the river. Looking back there was a fair bit of weird, unexplainable stuff we shrugged off which may well have been bigfoot activity but i never paid it much mind, they just "were". Some stuff happened about 2007 that drew me into the community actively and headed me down the path of investigating reports for a group. In 2013 I had a second sighting, that one in broad daylight, open / sparse 2nd growth forest with scattered firs and a good bit of grassy area between them. No doubt at all. None. So I research / investigate. My general area is SW Oregon from the coast to about Highway 97 and from about Eugene south to the OR/CA state line. Within that I focus a lot on the Cascades south of Crater Lake (where Paulides says he won't go alone ... I go alone), into the edge of the siskiyous, and the SE part of the coast range ... kind of a circle around the Rogue Valley. There is a lot of activity .. a lot that never gets formally reported. Lot of stuff a local with their ears open can pick up on and follow up on. MIB

Okay, interesting take, mine is a little simpler I guess although not nessicarily in conflict with yours. I think it's simply a money grab with them. 300 bucks per person per expedition per state, is a lot of money. That said, controlling the narrative is part of their schtick imo, because they are the "Only Scientific Outfit doing Bigfoot", so no woo, but, aggressive bigfoots are also bad for business. The narrative control is likely part of it for whichever reason, but from some things I've heard I don't think they're that sophisticated. Two folks I know started out with the BFRO and left the expedition because of the one holding it getting drunk while there and being abusive and profane. Interestingly just recently on FB though, the head man himself said clearly all the "negative nancies" in the group needed to drink the kool aid or leave the group. A day later the local chapter did same. That, I found cringey, a wee bit cultish even. If you're talking about Wally, the word is that he did distance himself from Moneymaker who the rumor had substance issues draining Wally's account, read that in a Book I bought a year or so ago.

Here's the thing, you have an organization that exists, putting on BF expeditions with no guarantees for an encounter, giving people a chance to experience something that has never been proved to be real. It's not putting the cart before the horse, it's making money on the cart WITHOUT the horse. I does speak to where the organization's (Moneymaker's) focus is. Finding Bigfoot? the same. Want anything to do with the BFRO? You'll pay for it.

No vendetta, curious of other's experiences with them. Are you a member? The "rumors" have been around for some time, there are good members as others have also said, the main issues seem to start at the top. If you want to be a Moneymaker fanboy just be forward about it.