Bergamo letter: Bear baiting
Regarding Idaho Department of Fish and Game’s legal harvest of black bear parts and baiting rules.
Fish and Game has created a dangerous and ou-dated problem for the public and the bears. Our property borders United Sates Forest Service land. I have witnessed an increase in bear bait sites on USFS land. Bears are being hunted for their body parts only. The evidence is clear and please do not say there is no value in the trade or sale of bear parts.
Posters alert the public to not feed bears. IDFG needs to take their own advice. Baited bears by unscrupulous hunters and outfitters come onto our land looking for a free feed. Recently a young grizzly was attracted to a bear bait site, shot and killed.
Fish and Game’s legal harvest of bear parts and legal bear baiting should be discontinued. Not only is it unethical, it has promoted and encouraged the illegal taking of both black and grizzly bears.
Tari Bergamo, Priest River
This story was originally published February 17, 2016 at 6:33 PM with the headline "Bergamo letter: Bear baiting."