Subscriber Glen Pollack is unhappy with a spring black bear and wolf hunt he experienced in
Alberta with
Ells River Black Bear Outfitting. In his initial report (
ID 8769) he says the area was overhunted and that there was no communication with the guides in the field for up to 10 hours. He gives the operation fair to poor ratings for the camp, guiding and other services, citing problems with broken down equipment and "hidden" fees.
We sent Pollack's report to outfitter Peter Wuenschel, who sent us a 10-page rebuttal letter that is impossible to fully summarize here. Basically, Wuenschel says he has been operating for five years and never had a complaint. He explains that it is illegal to have a permanent camp on crown lands in Alberta, so he provides take-down, plywood camps, with wood-frame beds and twin mattresses, generator power and propane heaters. Wuenschel says his four-wheelers are tuned up every spring before the hunting season, but that the country is very rough on equipment and the remote location of his camp requires that all repairs be done onsite. "Not once during Mr. Pollack's hunt did he get stranded or lose a minute's hunting to equipment breaking down," he says.....
