Lake Tahoe residents seek to halt bear hunt in court

Lake Tahoe residents have sued the Nevada wildlife commission to halt the state's first bear hunt. They worry that with hunters and hikers sharing the same woods along the lake's popular trails, it won't be only bears that get shot.

“Someone could be out hiking the Tahoe Rim Trail with their family and along comes a pack of dogs running across the trail, followed by a guy who comes along with a gun,” said Madonna Dunbar, resource conservationist for the Incline Village General Improvement District on the lake's north shore. “People are really concerned there will be an accident and someone will get killed.” 

State wildlife officials have issued 45 licenses and say hunters will be trained so they know where it is safe to shoot.

The  lawsuit was filed in Carson City District Court last week by NoBearHuntNV.org  to block the
bear hunting season scheduled to run Aug. 20 to Dec. 31. Although 45 licenses were issued, the total harvest is limited to 20 bears, only six of which can be female. Hunters can use dogs, but are prohibited from using bait. It also is illegal to kill a sow accompanied by a cub or to kill a cub.

The lawsuit alleges state wildlife commissioners adopted the hunt's regulations illegally because they failed to provide proper public notice or examine the potential negative impact on the local tourism-based economy. It also raises concerns about safety in an area popular for downhill and cross-country skiing in the winter, and hiking and mountain biking most of the rest of the year.

Bryan L. Stockton, the senior deputy state attorney general representing the Nevada Department
of Wildlife in the case, said his office intends to “defend the Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners against the claims made by No Bear Hunt.” Stockton noted that the Nevada Department of Wildlife requires hunters to receive training before they can try to bag a bear.

Department spokesman Chris Healy said the mandatory educational session is set for Aug. 6 for all bear tag holders who will be schooled by game wardens and wildlife biologists. “It's a first-time hunt, so we are trying to make sure they understand where they can hunt and can't hunt,” Healy said.

The state agency is working with Incline Village and other jurisdictions to develop maps outlining legally established “congested areas” where firearm use is prohibited at all times, regardless of a hunting season. At a minimum, those areas typically extend as far away from any building as it can be seen, but
bigger buffers are in place in more populated areas — including most residential and recreational areas around Lake Tahoe.

That's especially true at Incline Village, where officials are worried hunting could take place within a half-mile of some mountain homes and within a few thousand feet of the Diamond Peak ski resort.

“That's a big summer hiking area as well as winter skiing,” Dunbar said. “Our recreationists are not used to dealing with a hunting season.  NDOW is trying to do a good job educating hunters about where they can hunt or can't hunt. But it is one thing to look at a map. It's another thing to be in the field,” she said.

The Washoe County sheriff's office is prepared to provide enforcement support if needed when the season opens but doesn't expect any trouble, Assistant Sheriff Marshall Emerson said.

“Typically, if sportsmen are in the draw for a certain area they generally are aware of the congested areas and avoid them,” Emerson said. “They are going out there to enjoy the outdoors and they don't want any run-ins with game wardens or anybody else.”

David Piccinini, whose family has owned the Mark Fore & Strike Sporting Goods since it opened in Reno in 1962, is among the 45 who received a tag for the inaugural bear season. He doesn't expect many if any hunters to wander into the congested areas. “I would say the evolution of our sport the last 15 years is such that people do quite a bit more scouting than they used to,” he said.

Healy, of the wildlife department, said the bear hunt will use the same boundaries and general hunting laws that apply to deer, mountain lions and all other species. He said hunts have gone on for years for those other animals for years around Incline Village.

But Dunbar responded that “Hunting for bears is different from deer and mountain lions and grouse. Honestly, we don't see those other animals. We see bears all the time,” she said. “We live in Incline Village because we like living in the woods. We like seeing animals. People spend money to come here to see animals.”

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--Scott Sonner/AP

Top photo: A black bear drinks from a plastic soda bottle near South Lake Tahoe, Calif. Credit: AP Photo/Nevada Appeal, Chad Lundquist

Bottom photo: A black bear hunts for fish in Taylor Creek near South Lake Tahoe, Calif.The bear and two cubs wandered the creek in search of Kokanee salmon. As black bear populations across North America expand, so too are incidents of human-bear conflicts. Lake Tahoe residents have filed suit to stop Nevada's first bear hunt, which, they say, could pose a safety hazard to hikers and mountain bikers.Credit: Rich Pedroncelli/AP

Comments

[Lake Tahoe Resident]

If the pro bear hunters, who do not have a "dog" in this fight, would care to look at the map, they will see that a good share of our local ski area Diamond Peak is in the hunt zone. And the hunt zone is from August to Dec 31. Makes you want to come to Tahoe to enjoy the hiking, skiing and dodge the highpowered bullets that accompany bear hunting...and the bow hunters with the perogative to be hunting closer to hiking and skiing trails..most miss and the velocity of the arrows could blow right through a smaller human being.That is just the safety issue. The killing issue is yet another matter. The nuisance bears are made that way by human behavior. There has not been a human kill (or mauling) or a pet kill by bears in this area...ever...even by the nuisance bears... Bad analogy. Get the facts. The fish and game is just another lame and power hungry government agency. Their response to asking why they are starting a hunt in Nevada "BECAUSE WE CAN"...this is documented in a NDOW meeting. Go figure.

[gail keller]

Let game and fish do the job you give them millions of dollars to do.Hunters will pay for licenses for a strictly regulated and limited take bear season. The alternative is nuisance complaints,destruction of property,and attacks on pets and humans.Common sense says game and fish is addressing a problem with little public expense,providing a unique hunting opportunity for resident sportsmen,and avoiding the risk of bear and human conflict.Logically,I think they are doing the job you are paying them to do and doing it very well.Allow them to do their job for three or four years,then if you are not satisfied petition the game commission for changes.The sky is not falling,game and fish are doing their job you are paying them to do.Give them the opportunity to serve you.

[tahobo]

Well, I'm not usually for bear hunts, but a bear hunt in court might get rid of a few lawyers, at least. Especially if Cheney shows up with his hunting buddies.

[Bear this in mind -]

People in the city have NO idea how many bears are living in California. In parts of Northern CA and the Sierra's, bears are like ticks on a dog.
But I like bears, and I say no hunting too.

[Ted Teodoro]

Hunters cannot be entrusted with the public's safety in the woods. Hunters get into accidents by themselves, even with their best efforts, and so how can anyone expect them to avoid accidents with the general public who will be in the woods with them. Why wait for the first, probably deadly, accident in the woods to drive this point home? Furthermore, hunting destroys the sanctity of the woods for hikers, campers, nature-lovers because no matter how you look at it hunting is a destructive activity, causing death on innocent animals that frankly brings joy and amazement to those who are lucky enough to spot them in the woods.

[michael g]

Bear hunting has been going on for thousands of years. Sound game management is essential, especially in a region that might rim a populated area. If the use of firearms frightens some hikers ( A legitimate concern) allow bowhunters harvest the bears close to the popular trails...

[jeb]

I find it very disturbing that killing of anything is seen as "recreation" and enjoying the outdoors. How about "wreck creation" instead? We seem to be very good at doing that!

[Alan Dean Foster]

It's still perfectly legal, and you can call it many things, but don't call it a "sport". "Sport" implies competition of some kind. There is no sport in looking down a telescopic sight at a lumbering animal the size of a Volkswagen and popping off a few high-powered rounds until it collapses. There's more sport in a chess competition.

Bear is not delicious. It is fatty and greasy.

[nanabertha]

I bet your not gonna want to see that Big Bear jump on you and then kill............Let them hunt!

[Stephen J. Smith]

cwmanic, so does yours. I hope someone harvests it.

[Heisenberg]

Bear hunters are COWARDS

[annie]

cwmanic oh brother, and the power of a bear's gall bladder is an ancient myth.

[Roosevel]

Humans are delicious too. Just ask a cougar.

[draconifer]

How about "just live and let live" or is that just too profound a concept for you? Enjoy nature without killing.

[cwmanic]

Bears are delicious, taste nothing like chicken.

Plus their galbladders have powerful healing properties