Alaska Bear Quest LLC is an Alaskan company dealing exclusively with brown bear viewing, education, and photography.  

My goal is to meet client’s expectations without adversely impacting the lives of the bears we watch, learn about, and photograph.

I offer single and multiday trips with opportunities to film or to simply sit and watch bears being bears.  

Past clients have enjoyed viewing bears in coastal sedges in June, eating salmon in mid summer, and grazing in berries in late August.

I am willing to work with film crews or professional photographers to get desired lighting, composition, and subject matter.  I am familiar with both robotics and underwater photography and know locations suited for these techniques.

I have lived and worked in Alaska since 1964. My undergraduate thesis, done in the mid-sixties, was on the social behavior of brown bears at Lake Becharof, Alaska.  My master's thesis, done in the early 70’s, was on social behavior and communication of the Alaska Brown Bear at McNeil River, Alaska.   

I have written articles for both popular and scientific publications, produced an award winning film about bears and worked for many years for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game at the McNeil River State Game Sanctuary.  During past winters I have been involved in bear education for Alaska Audubon.  I am an adjunct instructor for the the University of Alaska.  I wrote Living in Harmony with Bears, which is distributed by the National Park Service, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and other agencies. This booklet is available in both Russian and Japanese. 

Over the years I have been involved with films for PBS/Nature, IMAX, BBC/Discovery, National Geographic, and Art Wolfe Productions.  I have also guided many nationally known photographers.

I work closely and fly exclusively with Beluga Lake Air Service in Homer, Alaska.  Jon and Jill Berryman, the owners, have been in the air charter business for more than 35 years. Flying a deHaviland Beaver on floats, Jon has thousands of hours flying in Alaska.    

I sometimes work in conjunction with Ken and Chris Day, owners of Emerald Air Service in Homer, who also have a bear viewing company.  Quite often we fly to the same place they do.  There are no finer people, and no better trip than the one they offer. 

Derek Stonorov
Alaska Bear Quest LLC
P.O. Box 15005
Fritz Creek, Alaska 99603
907-235-8273 stonorov@xyz.net