<p>Back The BEARS is a free educational event presented to the community by the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park made possible by generous funding and support from park partner Eastern National. The event is a “one-stop bear fact shopping” where visitors had opportunities to connect with black bear experts from the National Park Service and state wildlife agencies.</p>

<p>Photos by Albert Earle | Cumberland Gap National Historical Park</p> <p>Back The BEARS is an event held at the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park and this year broke the 2015 record for attendance on Saturday. Back The BEARS helps the community appreciate, understand and know what to do when it comes to bears, and the park embarked on this campaign to educate the community on keeping bears wild.</p>

<p>Several educational tents were set up around the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park Visitor Center on Saturday to educate the community on the Back The BEARS Program. This is the second year the program was held to encourage the community to be educated and responsible stewards when it comes to bears. </p>

<p>Visitors to Saturday’s Back The BEARS event were treated to an amazing array of programs throughout the day. Kim Delozier, retired bear expert from Great Smoky Mountains National Park and author, was the keynote speaker. Dr. David Unger also presented along with John Hast and Kathy Sherrard on various topics on black bears throughout the region.</p>