How Can You Discover A Long Term Research Sight For Northern Climates?

[Lake County Bigfooot]

I, probably like others, am searching my 100 mile radius for a long term research sight. 

Some of my prerequisites are;

 

1.  Proximity, within the 100 mile or so radius

 

2.  Year round activity

 

3.  Protection from hunting

 

4.  History of Sightings

 

5.  Accessibility, able to get in and out fast, retrieve and leave equipment

 

6.  Obscurity, not a popular destination for yahoo's

 

7.  An absolute year round supply of food and water

 

8.  Unusual eco diversity and geology

 

An answer for my area might be Tamarack Bogs, as these seem like a unique situation that

might lend itself to a winter haven, and year round opportunities.  I have found sightings near

one such situation, just curious the process any of you have undergone to determine a sight

from scratch, I know some are stumbled on as well.

 

[NathanFooter]

I have been meaning to respond on this topic but I have been very busy with work and car issues. I plan on really jumping in on this when I have time.

[Guest lightheart]

One of the things I have noticed LCB is that an area where they are year round actually looks different from places where they are not.

I recently went camping in an area that has had sightings.within a 50 radius. But this place had none of the signs that I have come to recognize as indicators of their presence. The tree structures, the little barricades they make when they have moved into a new bedding spot, the cabers leaned against trees, the broken and uprooted trees, the warning sounds that change from week to week, the stick tools that are left lying right where they were searching for nuts, or crabs, everything that I have come to recognize as signs that they are actively working the area were not there.

If you think about it ,it makes complete sense.....they alter the environment they occupy just like we do....It is just not as noticeable. But if you visit several days in a row you will notice, "oh that branch was not in that water hole yesterday. Oh that cedar pointer arrow was definitely not there with that log lying on it. I believe it is the little details that actually are the best indicators. Most people are not looking for these things and they miss them.

[JKH]

Hey Lake. I thought this educational quote from a thread earlier this year might be helpful. Of course, you already know much of this. I think this and lightheart's observations illustrate that as you have even stated, they're very mobile. Places they travel through can be as good as a place they stick around. Are your goals to record audio and some tracking?

 

scottv,

 

Absolutely, most of the detections are audio, but over time, we've had a surprising number of visuals in some of these areas or patches that back up our audio detections.  IR and thermal imaging has helped this TREMENDOUSLY.  Although some of these high density BF patches are surprisingly close to higher density human populations, the patches themselves are out-of-the-way, "boonie" type areas, with low density of human population within the patch itself.  As far as the boogers staying "hidden" in these patches - they don't - that's what's tipped me off to most of the ones I know about - first by very carefully reading sighting reports, talking to local folks and hearing verbal reports, sometimes making friends with and talking to local LEO's (which must be done VERY delicately), etc., etc.   Then I very carefully study the area and its terrain features, plot the sightings, find the access points, decide on a few points within the area to go check out, and then hit the field. 

 

You asked what constitutes optimum habitat for the high densities.  Now, I want to preface my answer by saying that I have absolutely NO experience with the heavily forested areas of the PNW, so what I know and state can only apply to areas of the US east of there, and primarily from Oklahoma and East Texas eastward.  And my research in Maine and upper New England wasn't up to the standards that I use today.  Back to the question - In addition to the patches being out-of-the-way, "boonie" type areas with low human population density, as I described in the above paragraph - prime, high density BF patches have the following attributes:  good, year-round water sources that are large enough to support eating-sized fish; high, year-round multi-species game populations; high biological diversity; interspersed areas of agriculture or timber management which create lots of browse opportunities and lots of "edge" cover; multiple tracts of forest covering unbroken areas of at least several hundred acres; isolated heavily forested areas (for raising their young) with multiple escape routes with enough cover to keep the BF concealed; ample travel corridors that allow them to stay relatively concealed when they want; terrain features they can take advantage of for shelter or concealment or other purposes; and finally, a minimal amount of high-traffic roads and highways.  I might have missed an attribute, but these are the one's that come to mind now.

 

Keep in mind that these high density areas are relatively small and very scattered.  That's why I estimated state-wide densities of only one quarter to one fifth that of the high density patches.  And those statewide, much lower densities cover the VAST majority of the land.

 

There's a fair population of BF in parts of the Ozarks, but I don't know of any high density places there.  But I haven't covered much of it, so don't take my word as being anything definitive.

[Lake County Bigfooot]

Very good post and info JKH and Lightheart, I really appreciate what

Coonbo was saying about the layers of situations that make up the 

ideal long term situation, thanks and lets continue this discussion, I 

also eagerly await hearing from our own prodigy of Michigan soon.

[gigantor]

I, probably like others, am searching my 100 mile radius for a long term research sight. 

Some of my prerequisites are;

 

1.  Proximity, within the 100 mile or so radius

Proximity from where? where are you located at? can't help you if we don't know where you are.

 

2.  Year round activity

Not happening. If Bf exists, they migrate following food sources.

 

3.  Protection from hunting

Not happening, unless it's a privately owned tract of land and you have written permission from the owner.

 

4.  History of Sightings

 

5.  Accessibility, able to get in and out fast, retrieve and leave equipment

 

6.  Obscurity, not a popular destination for yahoo's

 

7.  An absolute year round supply of food and water

 

8.  Unusual eco diversity and geology

Anything else? :lol:

 

 

[BobbyO]

Yeah animals will move long distances for food source no don't about that.

http://m.nbcmontana.com/news/Grizzly-bear-wanders-5-000-miles-across-Montana-and-Idaho/30065086

Getting your head deep into the reports and breaking things down is key to finding the research area that you want, that is of course if they are there and if they are in the part of the country that you want.

You might want to change the thread title too, you mean "site" and not "sight".

[Lake County Bigfooot]

Yah Bobby O, not the best at proof reading I guess.  Gigantor, I live in Lake County Illinois, bordering Wisconsin, not what you would think is 

sustainable year round habitat for something so large.  I know they must travel, but I am looking to find them in a smaller circle so to speak,

this would require unusual resource concentration, truthfully it is not at all a problem for them to negotiate the open spaces without being 

detected.  They seem to be using rivers like most places out east, but they also spread out from those areas, but the farther out you look at

a sighting map, the more you realize the use of rivers and topography playing a role, I find the puzzle fascinating.

Edited December 7, 2014 by Lake County Bigfooot

[JKH]

I really don't think you'd need to go that far, although WI looks interesting. Did you see the track find from late winter last year near Waukegan? Anyhow, there look to be some great state parks around you. Even better for your purpose though, look for county preserves and lands. They typically don't allow nocturnal human access or hunting.

[Cotter]

Robert Morgan has a pretty decent checklist that you can follow that would suggest whether or not you are in a good area.

 

From your location, just set up camp in the Horicon.  But you'll want to pick a spot not easily accessible by the day hikers and hunters.  Think of where you'd want to sleep undisturbed. 
 

Do you have Morgan's Bigfoot Observer's Field Manual?

[Guest Stan Norton]

Not happening. If Bf exists, they migrate following food sources.

Not happening, unless it's a privately owned tract of land and you have written permission from the owner.

No evidence for that. There is no reason why sasquatch have to be migratory. They are as much likely to switch resources seasonally in any any one locality as to move away in search of something else. And in any case not all populations of organisms exhibit the same behaviour. Sasquatch may well, like any other species one could think of, be very plastic in terms of its exploitation of its environment. Plus we don't know anything about them anyway... Edited December 8, 2014 by Stan Norton

[BobbyO]

It all depends on the definition of migration and what someone's interpretation of it will be and as from person x to person y, I think we could argue this point all day long and long into the night.

I'll use the Olympic Peninsula in WA State as a prime example.

[NathanFooter]

When I am looking fora long term site for study I look for large tracts of swampy evergreen forest that border both cropland and sprawling river systems, the more these habits reach or bleed into each other the better as these creeks and swamps act as pathways from food to cover for all wildlife.

The reasons that I believe evergreens are so important is because they provide the most protection from the elements in all seasons, they offer easy dark hiding places and are often difficult to navigate and hunt in for humans.

This habitat also happens to be perfect for black bear habitation, if bear can exist in an area in a good density then it is likely good sasquatch habitat.

[norseman]

When I am looking fora long term site for study I look for large tracts of swampy evergreen forest that border both cropland and sprawling river systems, the more these habits reach or bleed into each other the better as these creeks and swamps act as pathways from food to cover for all wildlife.

The reasons that I believe evergreens are so important is because they provide the most protection from the elements in all seasons, they offer easy dark hiding places and are often difficult to navigate and hunt in for humans.

This habitat also happens to be perfect for black bear habitation, if bear can exist in an area in a good density then it is likely good sasquatch habitat.

Except the Bear hibernates in cold climates such as Washington or Wisconsin. Even the NAWAC reports that area x goes dead in winter. Oklahoma is not exactly a cold climate.

I have a feeling that if we can crack the code of what happens during winter time? We solve the mystery. Food sources narrow, snow makes tracking easy and a ape needs some sheltered places to escape the cold and snow. It makes them more vulnerable.

[BobbyO]

When I am looking fora long term site for study I look for large tracts of swampy evergreen forest that border both cropland and sprawling river systems, the more these habits reach or bleed into each other the better as these creeks and swamps act as pathways from food to cover for all wildlife.

The reasons that I believe evergreens are so important is because they provide the most protection from the elements in all seasons, they offer easy dark hiding places and are often difficult to navigate and hunt in for humans.

This habitat also happens to be perfect for black bear habitation, if bear can exist in an area in a good density then it is likely good sasquatch habitat.

There's some great stuff out there Nate to learn more if you're going down this road.

I'm currently looking into what I think would be their prey, and how/when it moves and where.

Here's some stuff on Black Bear in the Olympics though.

http://www.cfr.washington.edu/research.cesu/reports/J9088020032_Final_Report_3_Thesis.pdf