100 years of Michigan bear hunting

Don Brown harvested this bear in 2024 on his 80-acre homestead in Rapid River. (Photo courtesy of Don Brown)

Don Brown runs bear baits on his property in Rapid River with three of his children, Clara, Ava and Tanner. (Photo courtesy of Don Brown)

Sara Brown of Rapid River harvested her first black bear in 2023 in Marquette County. (Photo courtesy of Don Brown)

Elijah Keller and his dogs tree a bear during a training run in Wexford County. (Photo courtesy of Elijah Keller)

Don Brown harvested this bear in 2024 on his 80-acre homestead in Rapid River. (Photo courtesy of Don Brown)

On a cold, rainy fall afternoon in 2019, veteran bear hunter Elijah Keller and a friend had spent hours tracking a black bear through the western Upper Peninsula woods.

Soaked and exhausted, the men hustled a