May 10, 2026 – Appalachian Bear Rescue Update from Executive Director Greg Grieco
Firstly, thank you all for being such incredible supporters of wildlife conservation and our black bears, and for sticking with us through this latest process. None of this is possible without you.
As Executive Director Greg Grieco explains in this video update, we are working hard behind the scenes and with our partners to move everything in the right direction and get back to what we do – giving cubs a second chance.
Appalachian Bear Rescue May 2026 Update:
“We’re doing everything we can behind the scenes to ensure this process moves along smoothly and quickly,” Greico said on May 8. “We are still waiting to have our facility inspection scheduled with the state agency,” he added of partner Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA).
Crucial updates and details are on the horizon. So, while news is slow at the moment, we wanted to let y’all know that we’ve not slowed down our work – not one bit. This may mean fewer posts on social media, but it is all for good reason.
Recent ABR Facility Updates:
Recently, curators have been working on assembling the observation tower for new Wild Enclosures 5 & 6. For those of you who have been following ABR for many years, you know that observation towers used to be critical to our operation to make sure all bears in our care were healthy and accounted for daily. Now that we have high quality camera systems around our facility, our observation towers are used less frequently.
However, they still come in handy for curators. For example, they have been used as high ground for curators with paintball guns to act as a failsafe against curious cubs if curators have to go into an occupied Wild Enclosure for an emergency repair.
We eventually intend to have two or three cameras placed around WE 5 & 6. But for now, a few of our existing cameras can see into most of WE 6 and some of WE 5. This is where our new observation tower placed behind WE 5 will come in handy.
As Appalachian Bear Rescue Curator Katrina Anderson adds, “All of our other, older observation towers are open air structures made of wood with multiple visual barriers attached. They are great for observing bears, but they are also great homes for carpenter bees and giant hornet & wasp nests.”
In kind, “the wood is subject to all of the joys of the moist East Tennessee weather,” Anderson continues. “So, for the new observation tower, Director Greg had the idea of trying out a ‘hunting blind’ deer stand instead of building a new structure.”
These new stands can be moved around and even taken down if needed. And they are among thousands (literally) of improvements being made to Appalachian Bear Rescue in 2026.
Here’s to a bright future and another 30 years together!
If you have questions, comments, or concerns, please contact us. We’re always here to help.
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