According to his book, Among Grizzlies: Living with Wild Bears in Alaska, his mission to protect bears began in the late 1980s after surviving a near fatal heroin overdose.
彼の著書「Among Grizzlies: Living with Wild Bears in Alaska」(ペーパーブック)によると、彼の熊保護活動は1980年代後期、ヘロインの過剰摂取から生還した後に始まった。