Organization offers reward for information on grizzly killing

A conservation organization announced this week that it’s adding to the amount of money already available for information leading to the conviction of whoever shot and killed a grizzly bear in October near Perkins Lake, located northeast of Moyie Springs and near the border with Montana.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Idaho office announced that the bear was shot about Oct. 28 north of Perkins lake. That agency is offering $7,000 for information that leads to an arrest and conviction of the person who shot the grizzly, which is protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

But this week, the Center for Biological Diversity announced that it was offering an additional $7,300 for the same information.

It noted that the female grizzly was living in the Cabinet-Yaak Ecosystem. It’s small population of protected grizzly bears makes any loss of a female bear particularly devastating, according to a news release.

It also noted that wildlife officials had determined that the bear was not posing a threat at the time it was shot.

“This was a tragic, completely preventable loss and the consequences to grizzly recovery are enormous,” Kristine Akland, Northern Rockies director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in the news release.

“In a population this small and fragile, every female is critical to survival. Losing even one can tip the balance toward the decline of the entire population,” Aland continued. “We’re increasing the reward because the person responsible for killing this bear needs to be held accountable.”

The Center for Biological Diversity is a nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.8 million members nationwide and remains dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places, according to the release.

Idaho’s Citizens Against Poaching also is offering $700 for the same bear killing. All told, a tipster could get about $15,000 for information that solves the illegal bear killing.

Anyone with information should call the Fish and Wildlife Service’s tip line at 1-844-FWS-TIPS or the Citizens Against Poaching hotline at 1-800-632-5999. Callers may remain anonymous. Tips can also be provided online at fws.gov/wildlife-crime-tips or citizensagainstpoaching.org.