Dubya sued for not destroying enough habitat

[Hangar18]

With all the doomsday posts about the loss of habitat under the Bush administration, it is a wonder this bear found anywhere to live.

September 22, 2004

Last modified September 22, 2004 - 8:29 am

Widow of man killed by grizzlies sues state, federal agencies
Associated Press

HELENA -- The widow of a hunter mauled by a grizzly bear while he was gutting an elk is suing state and federal wildlife officials, saying negligent management practices led to her husband's death.

Mary Ann Hilston contends the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks knew there was an aggressive grizzly bear with two cubs prowling the Clearwater Wildlife Management Area northeast of Missoula during the fall of 2001.

"The defendants knew that bears were becoming accustomed to gunshots and that bears were using the sound of gunshots as a 'dinner bell,"' the women's suit contends.

The agencies, which manage the wildlife area, were informed on Oct. 27, 2001, about the aggressive bear that had taken over a hunter's elk carcass in the management area. Hilston was attacked three days later.

The bears apparently surprised Hilston, bit him repeatedly and the 50-year-old hunter bled to death, the FWS's investigation determined.

"The defendants did nothing to warn or protect hunters such as Timothy A. Hilston. The actions or inactions of the defendants were negligent," the suit says.

A search party found Hilston's body the day after the attack, along with adult and juvenile grizzly bear tracks.

A trap was set for the bears, which returned to the scene three times. The bears were captured and killed by game wardens, who said the animals had acted aggressively toward a human. The sow weighed nearly 400 pounds.

The suit, filed in federal court in Helena, seeks a jury trial and unspecified damages.

Copyright © 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.

edit - Link
http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2004/09/22/build/state/56-grizzly-widow.inc

[ 09-23-2004, 15:41: Message edited by: Hangar18 ]

 

[Elkhunter]

Damn Dubya anyway.

Proof we need more roads and ATVs out there.