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Phone
number: (949) 278-6403.
Fees and Conditions
The fee to attend a BFRO expedition:
- $300 per person for first-time participants. There is a limited number
of slots for first-time participants.
- $100 per person
for participants who have attended prior expeditions. There is a limited
number slots for repeaters. Those slots will be filled on a first-come-first-serve
basis. Once the limit has been reached, any other repeaters will need
to pay the full fee of $300.
These expeditions usually sell out in advance,
so no one is guaranteed a space at the last minute, even if they attendeed
prior expeditions.The only way to guarantee
a space on an expedition is to register early.
The conditions for participating in a
BFRO expedition :
1) Prior to the expedition you must be able
to send and receive email, and periodically check a private message board.
2) You must have camping gear and clothing
for any weather conditions.
3) You must be able to provide your own food, and prepare it yourself.
4) You need to provide your own transportation,
at least to the base camp.
The fee covers the overhead costs for organizing the expedition. You need
to prepare as if you will be camping by yourself, and completely relying
on yourself. You will be sleeping in a tent or in your own vehicle, however
you prefer. You will be out in the woods for several hours at night, and
possibly until sunrise, so you will need clothes for cold conditions,
even if warm weather is forecast for the days of the expedition.
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Restrictions
Age Limits
21 is the general age limit for people attending alone, or
without someone 21 or over.
The 21 age limit does not apply to:
- People accompanied by someone over the age of 21.
- Current military personnel.
- Former military personnel (honorably discharged).
- Currently enrolled, full-time college or university students.
- College or university graduates with verifiable degrees.
- Currently employed first-responders (fire, police, EMT, etc.)
Attendees are discouraged from bringing small children. If a spouse is content
to remain at base camp with a small child, that will not be a problem. The
problem occurs with slightly older children who may want to go into the
woods with us. They may not be allowed to go with the adults at night. Noisy
or rambunctious children will not be allowed to go anywhere with us, day
or night.
Pets
No pets are allowed, especially dogs.
Weapons
Guns are not allowed. You may carry a knife, a machette, a spear, a taser,
or any other kind of weapon, but not a gun.
There are no modern reports of sasquatches attacking humans. They will
sometimes approach and intimidate human intruders at night, but not attack
them. You are not putting yourself at risk by not carrying a gun,
but you are potentially putting everyone else at risk if you are
carrying a gun.
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Registration Process, Etc.
If you are certain that you would like to attend an expedition, you can
begin the registration via email (instructions below).
There is a contact person for each separate expedition. You will send
an email to the individual who is organizing the expedition(s) you are
interested.
In the subject line of your email, please write the name of the expediton,
such as "Michigan Expedition".
In the body of the message write:
1) your name
2) your phone number
3) the name of the expedition(s) you are interested in
4) please mention that you have read the conditions (listed below) and
that you are aware of the fee.
Here are the email addresses for expeditions currently open for registration
:
[NOTE: You might have trouble copying and pasting
these email addresses into the body
of an email message (as you might do if you're sending the email address
to a friend, etc.)
because the email addresses are white text below. If you have that problem
then here's the same
list of addresses in a plain text file, which
makes them easier to copy and paste.]
For WEST VIRGINIA send an email to Steve Willis at WVirginia@BFRO.net
For GEORGIA send an email to Matt Pruitt at Georgia@BFRO.net
For NORTHERN CALIFORNIA send an email to Brandon Kiel at NCalifornia@BFRO.net
For NEW MEXICO send an email to Dave Warner at New_Mexico@BFRO.net
For MICHIGAN UPPER PENINSULA send an email to B.G.Martin at MichiganUP@BFRO.net
For BRITISH COLUMBIA INTERIOR send an email to Darcy Stoffregen at BCInterior@BFRO.net
For MAINE send an email to Nick Maione at
Maine@BFRO.net
For OREGON send an email to Cliff Barackman at Oregon@BFRO.net
For the WASHINGTON CASCADES send an email
to Kevin Jones at Washington@BFRO.net
For WYOMING send an email to Brooke Raser at Wyoming@BFRO.net
For BRITISH COLUMBIA COAST send an email to Robert Kennedy at BCCoast@BFRO.net
For ARIZONA send an email to Tim Zamiski at Arizona@BFRO.net
For BC VANCOUVER ISLAND send an email to Blaine McMillan at Vancouver_Island@BFRO.net
For WASHINGTON OLYMPIC PENINSULA send an email to Kristine Walls at
Washington@BFRO.net
For CALIFORNIA SIERRA NEVADAS send an email to Cliff Barackman at Sierras@BFRO.net
For COLORADO send an email to Dennis Pfohl at Colorado@BFRO.net
For CALIFORNIA REDWOODS send an email to Brandon Kiel at NCalifornia@BFRO.net
For PENNSYLVANIA send an email to Paul Mateja
at Pennsylvania@BFRO.net
We select territories that have a history of reports.
The reports you see posted on the web site are only a fraction of the
information we have. They are only the first hand reports, and
the ones that witnesses have allowed us to post publicly on the
web site. There is a lot more information for a given state than what
you see on the web site.
The trips are scientific in nature, but you will
only understand where these efforts fall in the scientific process once
you have experienced it for yourself. No other scientific efforts will
happen with respect to these animals unless these expeditions happen first,
because the BFRO is figuring out how these animals can be studied.
"Proof" is always one of the goals of an expedition, but "proof"
is a subjective idea. Proof is whatever will satisfy a given "standard
of proof". If you see a sasquatch yourself, that will be "proof"
to you, but not to anyone else. If you get a video, that will be "proof"
to a lot more people, but not to everyone. A dead body might be proof
to nearly everyone, but we're trying to learn the behavior of the
living animals on these expeditions, not trying to bring back a body.
You will have tremendous respect for these animals once you've been approached
by one. You will respect their intelligence, and their right to be, no
matter how scientific you think you are.
Back to the registration process ...
Once the payment is received, you will be contacted again and added to
a private, password-protected message board wherein important information
awaits you, including the location where to meet, the names and bios of
the other attendees, the basic game plan for that expedition, etc. On
the message board you will be able to ask questions and get phone numbers
of other participants.
These trips do not get cancelled due to weather. We go to hot zones in
the winter, and cold zones in the summer, to minimize the interference
of weather.
You should reserve a space on an expedition far in advance if you know
you want to go. These trips can fill up fast if. Some people wait til
the last minute to register, and the trip is already full. It happens.
Q: If you are finding good evidence in one area, why go somewhere
else? Why not focus your attention and expeditions there?
A: We do and we don't. The people who come on the expeditions
can focus on the target areas after the expedition if they choose.
Some do, and become part of a regional BFRO chapter.
We don't focus all of our attention on one location. That
would be unwise. Among the most important things we are learning
from these expeditions is the range of their habitats, and the
commonalities of the evidence and behavior in these different
habitats.
We are better, by a very wide margin, than any other group or
collective ever has been, at getting close to these animals, mainly
because we've explored so many different habitat areas across
the continent and compared notes. If we had not done that we would
know only a small fraction of what we know about this species.
We have observed and experienced things that indicate patterns
of behavior, patterns that are consistent enough to anticipate in
other habitat areas. We think it is very important to see if those
same patterns exist in other areas, and how they may vary.
Q: How many people are coming?
A: 25 - 45 people assemble at a base camp, then divide into teams
of 3-5 people per team, guided by BFRO guides. The teams move into target
areas from different angles, connected via walkie-talkie. The teams stay
out for a few hours and return to base camp to rest, eat, etc.
Some teams (usually the backpackers) choose to camp the entire time at
satellite camps in target areas. You will be able to decide what you want
to do. The people accompanying you may want to stay at that base camp
when you go out with a team. No one is forced to go anywhere, or stay
out all night.
We suggest the strategy and the target zone and allow you to decide who
you want to group up with, and where you want to go, and how long you
want to stay out. We operate both during the day and at night, in shifts.
A lot happens in the course of 4 days.
Safety is a top priority. There have never been any injuries during these
expeditions, not even a sprained ankle.
Q: What's the goal of the expeditions?
A: There are many goals on each trip. The
primary goal is to identify habitat areas
-- areas where longer term projects will take place in the future, involving
local academic institutions.
Other goals include, but are not limited to:
- Observing (hearing) the behavior of sasquatches in different areas.
- Obtaining sound recordings, photos, video footage, and other evidence.
- Testing methods for attracting sasquatches toward a stimuli.
- Training people how to find sasquatches in their own areas.
- Meeting potential new members from various regions.
- Allowing potential new members to meet and execute missions together.
Q: Who will be able to collect evidence?
A: Everyone is allowed to retain their own photos, videos,
track casts, hair samples, etc.
At the same time, we strongly encourage people to be thoughtful
and responsible with any footage or evidence they might obtain.
Q: Will we be camping at these locations?
A: In most cases participants will be tent camping, or car camping,
at the base camp.
Sometimes we are near cabins or farm houses, but that is not common.
Q: What about food?
A: You must bring your own food. The locations selected give great
consideration to logistics.
On nearly every expedition you will be able to buy food from restaurants
and markets in the nearest town.
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