Bear Stauss

Bear Stauss

Bear Stauss, One CommunityBS in Agricultural Production specializing in Ornamental Horticulture & Landscape Design/Recreation Area Management, Cross-Cultural Discussion Facilitator & Lecturer, Experienced Wildland Fire Suppression Manager, and Property Manager: Bear’s academic education focused on both agriculture and horticulture and led him to participate in a wide diversity of related fields both in the United States and abroad. From smokejumping (parachuting into isolated areas to fight forest fires) and teaching landscaping to tree nursery management, irrigation installation and maintenance, reforestation, organic food production, and more, Bear has applied his education across the world. He also has a diversity of experience gained through volunteering his time to communities where he has resided regarding community growth, education, and environmental issues. He has donated his time to libraries, public radio, youth groups, performing arts venues, and facilitating discussion groups; using these experiences to further evolve his managerial, problem-solving, and communication skills as the ingredients he considers foundational to community success. Bear also has considerable experience in backcountry logistics and managing large and small groups of people in classroom situations and the field – creating a multi-faceted background that integrates well with the multiple disciplines of One Community and our local and global intentions.

His pastime activities include reading, cycling, meditation, swimming, table tennis, anything associated with nature (especially body-surfing), thoughtful and creative discussion, and a healthy lifestyle focused on nutrition, exercise, positive thinking, and challenging physical labor. Passionately, he has engaged in world travel his entire adult life and is also adamant about cross-cultural interaction that spurs inner growth and personal development. With a positive attitude and eagerness, Bear brings his diverse skills and experience as a strong complement to the world-changing and ongoing endeavors of One Community.

 

ONE COMMUNITY PIONEER
December 2012 – Present

Having previously engaged in many activities with a variety of management and hands-on experience, Bear brings to One Community an eager desire to not only contribute, but to learn from others. He believes we are all students in one form or another and if we are open to constant learning, we will all share our knowledge; as is the concept of open sourcing. Bear’s focus with the team has been research and contributions to a broad diversity of Highest Good housing and Highest Good food components.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES, ACCOMPLISHMENTS, AND SKILLS USED

 

PROPERTY MANAGER
September 1986 – Present

Bear has also managed numerous private and personal properties dealing with all aspects of maintaining and keeping a property efficiently functional and running smoothly.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES, ACCOMPLISHMENTS, AND SKILLS USED

  • Employee management and overseeing sub-contractors
  • Budgeting and purchasing supplies, maintaining inventory
  • Accessing permits and consulting with county, city, and state officials
  • Landscaping and agricultural production
  • Operation of equipment such as chainsaws, tractors, bobcats, small dump trucks, and front-end loaders

 

CROSS-CULTURAL DISCUSSION FACILITATOR & LECTURER
December 1984 – March 2014

Traveling has been the greatest source of expanding Bear’s education and learning experiences, far beyond any academic possibilities, taking him many places. Bear has traveled extensively throughout the USA (Alaska & Hawaii included), Canada, Mexico, Central America, South America, Central Asia, the Republic of China, Australia, various islands and atolls of the South Pacific, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe (the Czech Republic, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Belarus, Ukraine) and the Russian Federation. In addition to mingling with this broad diversity of foreign cultures, Bear also has years of experience coordinating and administering numerous discussion groups for intermediate and advanced English speakers. This interaction has not only deepened Bear’s understanding of numerous cultures, it has also enhanced his communication, problem-solving, and public speaking skills.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES, ACCOMPLISHMENTS, AND SKILLS USED

  • Extensive travel throughout the USA, Canada, Mexico, Central America, South America, Central Asia, Australia, various islands and atolls of the South Pacific, the Caribbean, and
  • Worked both with adults and children in Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, the Republic of China and Ukraine. More often working with adults, the topics have varied greatly with common exploration into philosophical formats, cultural differences, reasons and importance of change, diversity, and life in general; discussions Bear has enjoyed as a great cultural exchange and opportunity to enhance the bonds of humanity.

 

EXPERIENCED WILDLAND FIRE SUPPRESSION MANAGER
June 1980 – June 1991

For 12 seasons Bear committed to working in wildland fire, most of this time as a smokejumper, parachuting to isolated wilderness areas whenever he was needed to combat wildland fire. The skills and experience learned from his time doing this will be used at One Community to develop a comprehensive forest management plan including implementing fire prevention plans for fuels reduction, selective thinning, ladder fuel eradication, trail construction and maintenance, and organizing a trained strike team and suppression crew to combat wildland fire activity on or around the property.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES, ACCOMPLISHMENTS, AND SKILLS USED

  • Received extensive and intense training for management of large-scale project fires across America
  • Parachuted into isolated wilderness areas whenever he was needed to combat wildland fire
  • Directed fire suppression strategies including employing FLE (fire line explosives), managing helicopter operations, safety, logistics, and organizing wilderness camps for firefighters in remote mountainous locations

 

ORNAMENTAL HORTICULTURE & LANDSCAPE DESIGN/RECREATION AREA MANAGEMENT
June 1977 – October 2001

Bear combines his ornamental horticulture and landscape design skills with a love of dry stone wall construction. Possessing a lifetime of experience he has designed and taught a landscape program under BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) funding to Native American inmates and instructed and supervised work crews at a leading wholesale tree nursery. In Latin America he was responsible for resurrecting an unproductive macadamia nut orchard and created organic vegetable and fruit gardens that were irrigated via gravity irrigation systems, initiated a reforestation project of endangered native hardwoods, and planted and managed various tropical fruit species. For a ten-year period Bear also grew numerous organic fruits, vegetables and herbs for personal consumption and for the benefit of others. He has also been involved in multiple landscaping and additional irrigation projects over the years and has vast experience in pruning, considering his experience in both dry stone wall construction and pruning as artistic forms of expression.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES, ACCOMPLISHMENTS, AND SKILLS USED

  • Work crew supervision and management
  • Transplanting native plants to landscaped areas
  • Managing the many phases of nursery production: planting, pruning, harvesting, grading, storage, shipping, etc.
  • Operation of equipment such as chainsaws, tractors, bobcats, small dump trucks, and front-end loaders
  • Landscape, orchard, and organic garden management (planting, maintenance, pruning, harvesting, winter storage, etc.)

Bear Stauss - One Community Pioneer

BEAR’S JOURNEY TO ONE COMMUNITY

As a child I spent a great deal of time with my friends, but probably an equal amount of time on my own, discovering the wonders of nature in the woods behind our house. It was there that I easily learned that nature was one of the best classrooms. As I grew older I could never disconnect from nature and always wondered why she (Mother Nature) always had the knack for righting our wrongs.

My university studies were not chosen with a career in mind, but more to maintain the connection to nature so society would not lull me into submission and lead me to being trapped in a make-believe environment. As young as I was in the 60’s, I did not clearly understand all its intentions, but by the time the mid 70’s rolled in, my eyes opened wider and I made increasingly new discoveries of humanity, politics, the corporate world, economics, and those who wanted change for the sake of a better world. Not knowing where to turn for answers, I ventured out over the decades to explore our Earth and found both ends of the living spectrum and everything in between. What I learned is that the world is vibrant and exciting, full of mystique and natural wonders, affluence and poverty, compassion and hatred, pristine environments and polluted enclaves, young and old, and among everything and everybody I came to realize that there seems to be something lacking. We all have our own ideas of those elements that are amiss.

Through these times I managed to lend my efforts as often as possible to worthwhile ventures where I was not the recipient; though that can be argued because as we assist others, it naturally lends an improvement to all. This did not, however, provide the overwhelming satisfaction I had hoped for and I found myself indulging in continuous philosophical discussions that sometimes just went round and round.

Then one day it came to me, I needed to make a more dynamic impact, and I began to toy with the idea of gathering like-minded individuals in a single location and trying to create an environment that was more suitable than the everyday rat race that I saw occurring around me. What I didn’t expect was that my main stumbling block turned out to be a lack of determined souls who would make a break from the norm and dedicate to a cause beyond themselves. I encountered a lot of thinkers and well-wishers, but no real doers.

I none-the-less continued to develop what I realized was a new plan for human interaction and as I did so, I sometimes stumbled across articles on eco-villages, community housing, and various other settlements trying to make a difference. Most were well intended but lacked the proper combination of enthusiasm, knowledge, initiative, and belief that even “I” can make a difference. Some had carved their niche, and one could say they were successful, but none really rang out and grabbed me.

One day I decided to sit down with the internet at hand and search through all the info I could bear and see what else there was. So, I did. Five months of relentless search in countries across the globe and then one day I came across the onecommunityranch.org website. It appeared to my liking, but I did not get my hopes up too high as I had, by this time, corresponded with hundreds and hundreds of websites and generally found they no longer were active, were not accepting new members, or for whatever reason they simply decided not to answer my inquiry to accept a volunteer that was interested in making a difference. Living in a foreign country, I had decided that I would uproot myself and go anywhere if the situation looked compatible and compelling. After immersing myself in One Community’s website, it appeared to me this group was exactly what I had been seeking, so I sent off a quick note and received an immediate response; I decided to submit an application. After going through the very lengthy application and interview process, both parties agreed we had similar intentions and objectives and I accepted One Community’s invitation to join their Pioneer Team and start the process of going where I have always wanted to go. Where is that? If you have read the website, you already know. This project is the most comprehensive endeavor with the most far reaching global goals that I have discovered. I am happy to be part of the Pioneer Team and look forward to our collective collaboration in providing an encompassing and long overdue solution to many of today’s problems.

THINKING FORWARD

Having previously engaged in many activities with a variety of management and hands-on experience, I arrive to One Community with an eager desire to not only contribute, but to learn from others. We are all students in one form or another and if we are open to constant learning, we will all share our knowledge; as is the concept of open sourcing. If we fail to be accountable for our thoughts and behavior, then we not only let ourselves down, but everyone around us. The format of One Community encourages built-in accountability that is applied and received in a cordial and respectful manner. This is one of the many beautiful parts of this endeavor. We are creating a model that can be Earth changing if we engage others, with always the thought of what is best, for The Highest Good of All. We have an opportunity now unlike any other time. Let us combine our efforts in a group participatory endeavor that will guide us through changes that provide and encompass healthy forward progress.