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Widow of man mauled by bear sues Government

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Pretty soon the states will have to put up signs at their stateline warning tourists that the wild animals really are wild....

This amply portrays what an old attorney friend used to tell me- that you didn't need a real case to file a complaint/lawsuit-- just the court filing fee and an unemployed/underemployed attorney!!!


Widow of man mauled by bear sues U.S.
10:00 PM, Oct. 26, 2011 | 29Comments


Written by
JOHN KEILMAN


CHICAGO — The widow of an Illinois man mauled by a grizzly bear in Wyoming last year is suing the federal government, contending that its researchers had removed signs that would have warned her husband he was entering dangerous ground.

Erwin Evert, 70, of Park Ridge was killed in a wilderness area near Yellowstone National Park, not far from where he and his wife, Yolanda, kept a cabin. Government researchers had been trapping, tranquilizing and releasing grizzly bears in the area as part of a long-running monitoring project.

Authorities said Evert, a well-regarded amateur botanist, had gone for an afternoon walk when he came upon a bear after it had begun to stir. He was not carrying bear-repelling spray or a gun, contrary to what some locals advocated, and the animal attacked and killed him.

Attorney Emily Rankin, who represents Evert's wife and daughter, said Evert's lack of protection was immaterial. The real issue, she said, is that the researchers who tranquilized the bear had taken down signs that would have warned Evert away from the animal. He had no idea it was there, she said.

"The feds created a danger, and unknown to Mr. Evert, he walked right into it," she said.

Shortly after Evert's death, some of his friends and the local sheriff said Evert knew that the bear trapping was taking place, and that he had apparently gone to take a look. Rankin, though, said that wasn't the case.

Evert had come across trapping signs in a different part of the forest, she said, and after seeing them didn't return. She said he never saw the signs in the area where he was killed.

Officials at the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees the monitoring program, declined comment. Last year, federal researchers said their crew members had circled the trapping site with warning signs before their work began, though they declined to address when the signs came down.

Rankin said that according to a government investigation, the crew members removed the signs shortly before Evert went for his walk. Though the crew frequently went by the family's cabin, she said, they never told Evert nor his wife that the trapping was taking place nearby.

"These folks had a duty to warn and notify the folks in the area what they were doing, and they absolutely did not," Rankin said.

Yolanda Evert declined comment. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Wyoming, seeks $5 million in damages.
 
Haven't we warned you about flapping your lips about things you know little about? It's becoming very redundant to biatchslap you every day..........

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service grizzly bear recovery coordinator Chris Servheen's decision to execute bear #646 perplexed people when it happened on June 19, but now that reporters have dug up accurate information on the situation, the disturbing truth is readily apparent.

The strange saga of bear #646 began on June 17 when, Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team biologists Chad Dickinson and Seth Thompson caught #646 in foot snare. They were trapping bears in the Kitty Creek drainage of the Shoshone National Forest, about eight miles from the East Entrance of Yellowstone National Park. The trap site was 1.4 miles from the trailhead,

Dickinson and Thompson tranquilized bear #646, put on a radio collar, and waited for the bruin to recover. It was their last day of trapping in the area, so they took down warning signs that had been posted in a 50-to-100 yard perimeter around the trap site.

They left the bear behind at 12:30 PM. Bear #646 was alert, but not fully ambulatory. It couldn't stand up.

At 2 PM, #646 killed 70 year-old Erwin Evert. Later in the day, Chad Dickinson found Evert's body just 21 yards from the tree where #646 had been caught in a foot snare.

Evert died from massive damage to the head. The bear did not scavenge the body. This suggests a classic surprise encounter where a person startles a nearby grizzly, and the bear reacts defensively. It charges, knocks the person down, and once the"threat" is removed, the bear gets out of Dodge. It's perfectly natural behavior for a grizzly bear.

On the evening of June 18, Wyoming Game and Fish Department bear specialist Mark Bruscino accompanied Chad Dickinson back to the trap site to examine the scene. Bruscino knew there were no warning signs posted. He knew #646 killed Evert just 21 yards away from the snare tree because he helped do the measurements.

On June 18 at 6:45 AM, Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team biologist Mark Haroldson discussed the situation with U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service grizzly bear recovery coordinator Chris Servheen. Mr. Servheen decides whether a bear lives or dies.

Chris Servheen called Haroldson at 1 PM "wanting information regarding captured bears."

Haroldson called Chad Dickinson, who informed him the bear "was a new, previously unmarked adult male."

The absence of markings--a lip tatoo--means bear #646, a 10 year-old male, had never gotten into conflicts with people in the past. It had never done anything wrong. Now it's life was about to end.

Haroldson called back Servheen at 1:10 PM."with information regarding bears."

Later in the day, Mark Bruscino "contacted Chris Servheen and we decided to remove [kill] bear 646 if given the opportunity."

The opportunity came early the next morning. Since #646 could easily be located by its radio collar, it was gunned down from a helicopter.

Why was bear #646 executed?

Servheen told the Billings Gazette he decided to authorize killing the bear "because experts could not determine whether the animal's actions were natural and defensive, or aberrant and unusually aggressive."

Did grizzly bear #646 deserve to die?

If the bear's behavior was aberrant or unusually aggressive, you don't need a PhD in wildlife biology to figure out why--drugs.

Looking back with 20/20 hindsight, it's apparent Servheen's decision to execute bear #646 had nothing to do with the bear's behavior. Instead, killing the bear was necessary to execute a well-organized strategy to blame the victim--Erwin Evert.

Servheen and Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team leader Chuck Schwartz got a careeer-saving break on the day Evert was killed when officials discovered Evert had found trap site #2 on June 9. Evert mentioned it to his friend (and family friend) Chuck Neal, who told him to stay away. Trap site #2 was about 2 miles away from trap site #3 where Evert died.

After Evert's wife Yolanda got the terrible news about her husband, she called Chuck Neal and he came to the Evert's cabin, where a swarm of agency representatives was gathering. Neal told agency officials Evert was aware of "the" trap site, and had seen a sign that said, "Dangerous Bear."

From this point on, bear trapping protocols became a non-issue.

Yolanda Evert had just lost her husband, but like hyenas circling a bloody and wounded gazelle, representatives from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, U.S. Forest Service, and other agencies all asked Yolanda if her husband had been to "the" trap site. Wink, wink. The answer was "yes." Useful information for the media and official reports about Evert's death.

Yolanda Evert and Chuck Neal didn't know there were two trap sites. Servheen and Schwartz weren't about to tell them. Or the media.

Yolanda Evert and Chuck Neal didn't know only trap site #2 had a sign that said, "Dangerous bear." The signs at trap site #1 and trap site #3 were different. Erwin Evert had been to trap site #2 on June 9, not trap site #3.

Servheen, Schwartz, and other officials were quick to take advantage of Yolanda Evert and Chuck Neal's confusion. While Neal told reporters Evert had been to "the" trap site and seen warning signs, Servheen and Schwartz kept quiet about the fact Dickinson and Thompson had removed the warning signs at trap site #3 where Evert was killed.

On June 19, Servheen told the Billings Gazette, "We try to do everything we can to minimize the risks. But we can't protect ourselves against people that ignore every warning we give, and we can't protect people against themselves."

That same day, the Cody Enterprise reported, "Chuck Schwartz, head of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team based in Bozeman, Mont, said Friday there would be an investigation into whether required procedures were followed, such as posting warning signs about the grizzly research."

A month later when Servheen and other officials released an in-house investigation admitting the signs had been removed from trap site #3 before Evert died, it hardly mattered. The public was already convinced Evert got killed because he walked past warning signs and into a grizzly.

It was a public-relations coup for Servheen and Schwartz. It was an unspeakably cruel hoax to play on Evert's grieving wife and daughter.

After Evert's death, the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study team established guidelines that require warning signs must be left up at trap sites at least 3 days after the operation ends. Biologists now monitor tranquilized bears until they're ambulatory and have moved away from the trap site. Prior to beginning a bear trapping operation, a news release goes out warning that trapping is occurring on the Shoshone National Forest, or some other general area. Exact locations are not disclosed, it's just a head's up so people in the area are aware of what's happening. These common sense protocols could have saved Evert's life.

If Servheen and Schwartz had told the truth about Evert's death from day one, they could have let bear #646 live. The public would have understood.

Of course if Servheen and Schwartz had told the truth about Evert's death from day one, the media would have known there were no warning signs posted at trap site #3. The media would have known there were two trap sites, and that Evert had found trap site #2 on June 9, not trap site #3 where he was killed. The media and the public would have focused on the absence of grizzly bear trapping protocols.

Bear #646 was executed to cover-up government malfeasance.
 
No comment? :roll:

A month later when Servheen and other officials released an in-house investigation admitting the signs had been removed from trap site #3 before Evert died, it hardly mattered. The public was already convinced Evert got killed because he walked past warning signs and into a grizzly.

It was a public-relations coup for Servheen and Schwartz. It was an unspeakably cruel hoax to play on Evert's grieving wife and daughter.
 
Lonecowboy said:
Mike- aren't you being awfully hard on oldtimer?

he was just doing his part as satan's assistant! :shock:

Do you really think that we can be too hard on his degree of ineptness? :lol:
 
NO!!!!!!You have to keep reminding kids that fire burns and hurts, unfortunately some are dumber than others and the never learn

EH :wink:

How many post back was it that oldtimer was complaining that being a part time judge cost him so much money by taking away from his nonspecific duties, yet he has all this time to post on at least 4 different sites, sometimes 3 4 or more times a day, :wink: :wink: :wink: :wink:

EH hypocrite???(LIAR)
 
Mike said:
What about the rebuttal from OT? Or have we slapped him around too much? :lol:

What rebuttal? Do you think that the government needs to hire someone to follow each bear around and tell folks where they are at every minute of the day... :???:
That folks living in Grizzly Bear country shouldn't know that bears sh*t in the woods :???: Especially those living in the Yellowstone eco system- where they are being trapped and relocated away from population areas all the time :???:

If a 70 year old guy with a cabin in the area doesn't have the responsibility to know that there are grizzly bears in the area- and what grizzlies will do- maybe you are right- every grizzly needs a ranger following it around sticking up signs saying there are grizzlies in the area- and explaining that Grizzlies are onery and dangerous :roll: :wink:

I think the Grizz have gotten about a half dozen in MT this year...
 
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
this whole thing has gone over oldtimers head :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:
 
Mike said:
Drugs. Has to be for no other explanation.

And thats the reason for all the other Grizzly attacks this year- or any other year :???: :roll:

I wonder what kind of drugs the Grizzlys were on when Lewis and Clark encountered so many attacks from them? :wink: :lol:
 
Oldtimer said:
Mike said:
Drugs. Has to be for no other explanation.

And thats the reason for all the other Grizzly attacks this year- or any other year :???: :roll:

I wonder what kind of drugs the Grizzlys were on when Lewis and Clark encountered so many attacks from them? :wink: :lol:

No. I'm talking about YOUR drugs. :lol:
 
Do you think that the government needs to hire someone to follow each bear around and tell folks where they are at every minute of the day...

tranquilized bear #646, put on a radio collar, and waited for the bruin to recover.

is it just me or is the solution staring everyone right in the face?






The radio-collared bears are tracked by listening with a radio for signals from their collars. By means of triangulation, the bear's location can be accurately determined using three bearings from known points. We track the locations of each bear by taking bearings from designated stations, which have been mapped with a GPS unit. Using mapping software, it is possible to triangulate to determine the location of the animal. We can tell the specific types of habitats used by the bears, as well as those not chosen, by comparing this data with a satellite image of the area. We can also measure the Home Range and Core Area of each bear. Localizations are placed on a 1:25,000 scale map of the region and digitalized using the data program Arcview 3.1, using a satellite image of the study area.
 
WOOOOOSSSSSSSSHHHHH that is twice in the same poxting that it has shot right over oldtiimers head. Between the pain meds he takes and the alcohol he drinks it is affecting his thought process :( :( :(
 
hopalong said:
WOOOOOSSSSSSSSHHHHH that is twice in the same poxting that it has shot right over oldtiimers head. Between the pain meds he takes and the alcohol he drinks it is affecting his thought process :( :( :(


hopalong, It is better to keep silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.


:lol: :lol2: :nod: :tiphat: :wave:
 
flounder said:
hopalong said:
WOOOOOSSSSSSSSHHHHH that is twice in the same poxting that it has shot right over oldtiimers head. Between the pain meds he takes and the alcohol he drinks it is affecting his thought process :( :( :(


hopalong, It is better to keep silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
You should know, you removed all doubt long ago. :roll:
 
Mike said:
flounder said:
hopalong said:
WOOOOOSSSSSSSSHHHHH that is twice in the same poxting that it has shot right over oldtiimers head. Between the pain meds he takes and the alcohol he drinks it is affecting his thought process :( :( :(


hopalong, It is better to keep silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
You should know, you removed all doubt long ago. :roll:


mikey, you must be washing your sheets tonight. not out burning no crosses no where ?



Delta Sigma Phi Auburn University

http://www.phigam.org/Document.Doc?id=353

October 2001, Auburn University - Photographs from separate Halloween parties sponsored by Beta Theta Pi and Delta Sigma Phi appeared on a Web site. Beta Theta Pi members were dressed in Omega Psi Phi (a historically African-American fraternity) paraphernalia with their faces and bodies painted black. A Delta Sigma Phi party member was dressed in a Ku Klux Klan hood and sheets and another member was clothed in mock FUBU (a clothing line popular among African-Americans) with a noose around his neck. Other fraternity members posed holding rifles to the "black" man with a Confederate battle flag in the background. The University suspended both chapters and 15 students. Both chapters were suspended by their national organizations. A county judge subsequently ordered the University to reinstate the students. The University settled a lawsuit filed by Beta Theta Pi, allowing the fraternity back on campus (Washington Times, Chronicle of Higher Education).

October 1998, Auburn University - Five Pi Kappa Alpha members came to a Halloween party dressed in Ku Klux Klan regalia. The chapter placed the members on social probation

(www.tolerance.org).

http://stophate.org/text/RevisedSTHGuide.01.03.06%201.pdf
 
You have to remember that some idiots sleep with demons yet are afriad of their own shadow. May I present some leftwingernuts we have as examples.
 

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