The widow of a man killed by a research grizzly bear that had just been captured, drugged, and released a few miles from Yellowstone Park's east entrance has brought suit against the government for $5 million. An out-of-court settlement seems likely.
After Erwin Evert was mauled to death by a 430-pound grizzly on June 17, 2010 high ranking government officials launched a well-orchestrated "blame-the-victim" campaign. They repeatedly suggested to the media that the trap site was posted with warning signs Evert ignored. The blame-the-victim strategy worked until an investigation of the incident was released on July 13, 2010. The investigation revealed that Interagency Grizzly Bear Study team biologists had removed warning signs posted at the trap site and left the bear before it was ambulatory.
The Courthouse News Service said Erwin Evert's widow Yolanda blamed the fatal bear attack on "serial errors by federal workers."
Yolanda Evert is represented by attorney Emily Rankin with the Spence Law Firm of Jackson, Wyo. Rankin said the government ran a campaign of "extensive misinformation and accusation" after Evert's death.
Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team leader Chuck Schwartz recently retired.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service grizzly bear recovery coordinator Chris Servheen can ill-afford to have his role in the blame-the-victim campaign scrutinized in court. Servheen leads government efforts to remove Endangered Species Act protections for Yellowstone area grizzlies. A panel of federal judges is currently deciding whether or not to delist grizzlies. If the Erwin Evert case revealed that Servheen lied and mislead the public, judges deciding the fate of Yellowstone grizzlies might wonder if Servheen and his colleagues have also lied and misled them.
The investigation of Evert's death shows that 8:30 P.M. on June 17, Study Team leader Chuck Schwartz was reached at his home and notified about Evert's death. At 6:45 A.M. on June 18th, Inter-agency Grizzly Bear Study Team biologist Mark Haroldson talked with Servheen. Haroldson and Servheen talked again at 1 P.M.
On June 18, Chuck Schwartz did not tell the Associated Press warning signs at the trap site had been removed. Instead, he said there would be an investigation to find out if "procedures were followed, such as posting warning signs about the grizzly research."
On June 19, Chris Servheen did not tell the Billings Gazette warning signs at the trap site had been removed. Instead, he said "we can't protect ourselves against people that ignore every warning we give."
On June 21, Servheen told the Cody Enterprise, "There were signs posted and the victim has seen the signs."
On June 24, Schwartz told the Chicago Sun-Times, "it's standard procedure for his team to post signs letting the public know that a bear trapping operation is under way and that the area is closed to the public."
On September 15, Servheen told the Billings Gazette Chuck Schwartz "did not immediately tell him about the removal of the signs. I wasn't aware of it until the crew was interviewed when they got back to Bozeman several days after the incident."
Would that claim stand up in court? According to the investigation, the two field biologists who trapped the grizzly that killed Evert arrived at Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team headquarters in Bozeman, Mont., at 2:40 P.M. on June 18.
Who was in charge of the cover-up and blame-the-victim campaign: Schwartz or Servheen?
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