Environmental groups threatened lawsuit over Idaho’s allowance of bear baiting in griz country

A coalition of environmental groups said Monday they intend to sue the state of Idaho for putting grizzly bears at risk by allowing hunters to use bait to attract black bears. 

The WildEarth Guardians, Western Watersheds Project, Friends of the Clearwater and Wilderness Watch filed a 60-day notice of intent to sue Gov. Brad Little, members of the Idaho Fish and Game Commission, and Idaho Fish and Game Director Jim Fredericks. They contend the hunting practice of using bait to attract black bears puts protected grizzly bears at greater risk of being killed. 

“Idaho is violating the Endangered Species Act when it issues licenses to black bear hunters to use bait sites in grizzly bear habitat,” said Greg LeDonne, Idaho director of Western Watersheds Project in a news release. “It puts grizzly bears at risk not just of being killed accidentally when they are mistaken for black bears, but of becoming habituated to human food sources and being killed when they display nuisance behavior.”

As evidence they point to a June 10 incident when a black bear hunter shot and killed a grizzly bear at a bait station near St. Maries. The hunter had taken video of the bear days before he shot it, shared with Fish and Game officials because he was worried it might be a grizzly. The people he shared it with wrongly told him it was a legal black bear. 

The hunter, who reported the incident once he realized the bear was a grizzly and cooperated with an investigation, was not cited. 

Idaho has an estimated grizzly bear population as high as 200 animals. Most of them live in three distinct areas — the Selkirk Mountains near the U.S.-Canada border; the Cabinett Mountains northwest of Sandpoint and near the Idaho-Montana state line; and in the Island Park area west of Yellowstone National Park near the state’s border with Wyoming. 

Idaho contends grizzly bears should not be protected by the ESA and is suing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for rejecting the state’s petition to remove the animals across the entire country from ESA status. 

Grizzlies are protected as threatened under the ESA and cannot be hunted. Black bears are managed by the state and are a popular big game species pursued by hunters. The state has long allowed black bear hunters to use bait. It also allows black bears to be hunted with dogs. 

The groups asked the state to “remedy the situation” before in the next two months and said they will pursue legal action if it doesn’t.  

Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2273.