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Thank you for this balanced article on a contentious situation. We have visited Dr. Rogers and his Wildlife Research Institute. We were impressed with the wealth of information he has collected with his radio-collared bears, and by following bears in the woods, to monitor foods eaten, territories, and other natural behaviors. The bears we saw were no more conditioned to humans than the bears here at Lake Tahoe - they are familiar with people, but avoid them for the most part, unless food is available (here at Tahoe it's people leaving out garbage, bird-seed or dog food). It seemed very valuable to be able to collar bears without having to inject them with sedatives, which can be toxic. (Several bears here at Tahoe have been killed when Nevada Dept. of Wildlife personnel miscalculated a dose.) It is extremely distressing that certain hunters keep shooting research bears, which are clearly collared and marked with fluorescent tapes, making it hard to believe these bears are not deliberately targeted. Hopefully, not having collars might even help. But disallowing den-cams is totally inconsistent and wrong-headed. As someone commented, eagle-nest-cams are allowed. And a remote camera cannot be said to be conditioning bears to humans, so why? We find here at Tahoe that providing more information about our local wildlife is the best way to promote well-being for both the wildlife and the people lucky enough to be living nearby. Research should be promoted, not attacked.

From: Lynn Rogers and the DNR

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