Investigation of fatal bear mauling could take months

If history is any guide, it could be months before wildlife officials finish their investigation into the June 17 death of a man near Yellowstone Park killed by a grizzly that had just been trapped, tranquilized and released.

Seventy year-old botanist Ewrin Evert of Park Ridge, IL was killed near his cabin on Kitty Creek, about seven miles from the East Entrance of Yellowstone National Park. There were no witnesses. On June 29, Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team leader Chuck Schwartz told the Associated Press, "federal wildlife authorities outside the team will conduct the investigation."

How long can Evert's widow, daughter, and friends expect to wait before the investigation is completed? On October 30, 2001 a hunter field dressing an elk was killed by a grizzly on the Blackfoot-Clearwater Wildlife Management Area northeast of Missoula, Mont. There were no witnesses to the incident. 

According to a Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks news release, "An investigative team of eight wildlife biologists, technicians and enforcement personnel for USFWS [U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service], Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and the U.S. Forest Service" gathered "evidence to reconstruct the sequence of events that led to the hunter's death."

The report was released on December 14, 2001.

The investigation of Evert's death promises to be contentious. Wildlife officials claim a trail leading to the bear trapping site, and the trap site itself, were closed. Evert's family strongly disagrees.  It's not known if the Park County Sheriff's Department will verify claims the area was closed, or investigate Evert's death.

Bear trapping is essential for estimating the Yellowstone grizzly population so the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service can remove Endangered Species Act protections for grizzly bears.