On the evening of June 1, a black bear was shot dead in this crowded community park in the midst of one of their most popular events, the Big Water Blowout Concert and Dutch Oven Cookoff. Idaho Fish and Game conservation officer John Fiebig and an Idaho State Police officer were involved at the scene when the bear approached a long row of picnics, trailers and people and showed no signs of moving after being shot with a compound bow and rubber projectiles. Members of the emergency response team then advised a friendly reconciliation with nearby nature would not be possible.

There had been warnings about the bear, too. Back in May, the bruin had been regularly hitting garbage cans in Riggins, prompting Fish and Game to partner with the City of Riggins in an effort to inform locals and keep human foods out of the bears’ reach. That was going to be impossible, as practitioners know. And, one day after that Kids’ Fish Day, while someone was unloading their vehicle, the bear attacked. Despite several residents firing warning shots at the bear, it showed no fear toward humans.

‘Even though Idahoans are used to seeing black bears where they live, a bear that’s out in daylight and not afraid of people is a major public safety issue,’ said the district conservation officer Marshall Haynes. He couldn’t transfer her somewhere else because habituated bears typically return to their natural range, or else cause problems at their new one.

The tragedy has refocused attention on the need to prevent wildlife conflicts by properly securing food waste and other attractants. ‘Those of us in Fish and Game spend our entire careers dealing with wildlife issues out of love for animals,’ Haynes said, ‘but public safety must always come first. We never euthanize an animal lightly.

The bear’s sad death reminds us that life for wildlife always hangs in the balance between human uses and conservation. Not that the bear dying could be accepted as anything but a tragedy and a loss.

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