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SUNNY Temp: 61 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Sunday, June 8, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend May 7, 2003 Animal-rights suit targets bear-killing for timber By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune Animal-rights groups filed suit today requesting an immediate halt to a government-run program that kills black bears to save timber stands in Western Oregon, but the move may just shift who ends up killing the targeted bears. The groups want a federal judge to ban Wildlife Services agents from trapping and killing any black bears while the U.S. District Court rules on whether a new environmental assessment justifying the program passes legal muster. Wildlife Services, which is a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, oversees a program that annually kills about 119 bears because they damage tree stands by stripping the bark for spring food. The program operates in nine Western Oregon counties, including Coos and Curry counties, under law passed by Congress in 1931. In their suit, the groups allege that Wildlife Services agents now are illegally killing because the assessment, signed April 11, does not properly analyze or justify the effects of the program on local bear populations and other related factors. Advertisement "This is a federal agency that exists solely to kill wild animals and the fact they won’t give any information about it is troubling, and they’re violating the law," said Brenna Bell, staff attorney for the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, one of seven local and national groups filing suit. "They’re illegally killing black bears now, and we need to stop them," Bell said. Dave Williams, who oversees the Wildlife Services program in Oregon, said the assessment addresses the issues, including years of study on non-lethal methods. Since the program began April 11, some bears have been killed, said Williams, who declined to speculate on the number. He expects an April tally by next week. The groups’ request for a temporary restraining order halting any Wildlife Services bear-killing and for a permanent injunction were mailed Tuesday to the U.S. District Court in Portland for formal filing today, Bell said. Bell expects a hearing on the temporary restraining order within two weeks. But a ban on government-sponsored bear killing likely will just shift the job to private landowners. John Toman, an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist in Charleston, said the landowners likely will apply for state damage-control permits allowing the killing of the offending bears. Then the ODFW, not Wildlife Services, would be responsible for tracking the carcasses and bear parts — such as gall bladders and paws — required under state law, Toman said. "If (bear damage) did happen, the landowners would have to do something," Toman said. The Wildlife Services program, begun in the 1980s, is built around the 1931 Animal Damage Control Act that requires the federal government to help curb agricultural damage caused by wildlife. There are an estimated 25,000 black bears in Oregon, with about half of those living west of the Cascades, according to ODFW statistics. Wildlife Services agents kill about 1 percent of the bears annually, and sport-hunters in Western Oregon kill about six times that number, ODFW statistics show. In Western Oregon, private timber owners and county governments pay for more than 80 percent of the program’s annual cost of about $101,000. The federal share, about $16,000 a year, primarily covers management and oversight. Wildlife Services states that its agents save private timber owners more than $1 million a year. The program operated without an environmental assessment through last summer. The assessment led to the April decision that the program has no significant environmental impact. Environmental attorneys expect to argue that the study does not adequately prove killing bears is necessary or cost-effective. They also believe the study shuns non-lethal options such as hazing or changing forestry management to steer bears away from targeting tree bark. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Rogue Valley Auto Finder Rogue Valley Job Finder --> Rogue Valley Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times