Woman sentenced for illegally feeding bears; was the punishment fair?
A Montana woman who was illegally feeding multiple bears on the family property pleaded guilty to one count of felony criminal endangerment and received what some might consider a light sentence, considering the resultant death of five bears.
Lucrecia Medina and her father Scott Medina participated in the illegal practice of feeding wildlife on their property near Canyon Creek, as detailed in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.
Lucrecia Medina received a three-year deferred sentence, was ordered to pay $4,000 in restitution to the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, and was ordered not to feed any wildlife. She was also charged with two misdemeanor counts of purposely attracting ungulates (i.e., deer) and bears, but those were dropped.
Scott Medina faces the same three charges in a separate case and is scheduled to go to trial in April, the Daily Chronicle reported.
“I am so sorry,” Lucrecia Medina told the court, admitting to hand-feeding black bears. “I live in the forest. I just see animals all the time. I just wish I knew what would have happened.”
The investigation into the Medinas began in September 2022 when a nearby landowner reported them to the FWP, worried for his grandchildren’s safety, despite the Medinas claiming the bears on their property were “harmless.”
A local UPS driver carried bear spray solely because of the Medina property and would sometimes leave deliveries at the bottom of their road, according to an affidavit.
Game wardens checked out the complaint and discovered eight black bears “lounging” in the yard and showing little fear of humans. They also saw evidence of a feed block.
Four days later, six game wardens, two sheriff’s deputies, an FWP investigator and an FWP bear rehabilitation specialist executed a warrant on the Medina property.
As the Medinas gathered things to leave the property, a deputy saw two bears leaving the doorway of the home and coming off the porch.
Once the family departed, game wardens tranquilized seven bears, including three cubs. The four adult bears, all sows, were euthanized because they were habituated to humans. The cubs were taken to Montana WILD for possible zoo placements.
Investigators found evidence of piles of bear scat with corn and carrots in it, bear prints on windows, 400 pounds of sweet pellet, cracked corn and grain, and empty bags and receipts for bulk food purchases from Helena.
That night, two live traps were put on the property, along with game cameras. Forty-five minutes later, an adult male bear was trapped. It, too, was euthanized.
The family was allowed to return home, but investigators seized Scott Medina’s phone. and found text messages discussing feeding bears, of photos of bears on the deck and of Lucrecia and her son hand-feeding bears.
The case against Lucrecia was filed in July 2023 and in August 2025 she pleaded guilty to the lone criminal endangerment count, as the other two counts were dismissed.
“Feeding wildlife is illegal and always causes problems both for the wildlife and for people,” FWP spokesperson Greg Lemon told the Daily Chronicle in an emailed statement. “We hope this sentencing serves as another reminder of why it is illegal and why FWP takes it very seriously.”
But the question some might be asking is, was the punishment enough?
This article originally appeared on For The Win
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