Thanks for all of your thoughts. I'm far from any kind of "expert" but I do spend a good deal of time around grizzly and black bears, and bear biologists. I follow my own recommendations.

The bear recommendations I make (its the most asked photography related question I get in Glacier Park) are first and foremost, dont go out looking for grizzly bears in the bush, bears are where you find them, they are always around - no such thing as a bear safe trail, dont look them in the eye (well, exept through a lens under "safe" conditions), never approach one, and dont scare them, if you encounter one on the trail dont panic, stay calm talk soft but firm and leave the area.

I dont agree when people see photos of bears and then say the shooter was too close. they dont know what was used to capture the shot, and they dont know the situation the shooter was in when he/she captured the image (Treadwel was different, you could tell that a pile of his shots were taken with a 50mm).

Have some idea about bears, stick to some guidelines and do your best to maintain a safe distance so as to no harm the bear or put the bear in a situation that it could be harmed.