A Yachats woman faces criminal charges for reportedly feeding black bears near her home on Yachats River Road from August 2006 through August 2008.

Karen Jean Noyes, 60, was originally cited by an Oregon State Police game officer, and a number of charges were subsequently filed against her by the Lincoln County District Attorney’s Office.

Noyes faces four counts of chasing or harassing wildlife. According to a court document, she “did unlawfully and recklessly chase, harass, molest, worry or disturb wildlife, to wit: a black bear, while the defendant was not engaged in lawful taking, hunting or trapping of such wildlife.”

Noyes also is charged with five counts of recklessly endangering another person, which state that by feeding the bears and attracting them to the area, she “did unlawfully and recklessly create a substantial risk of serious physical injury” to several individuals.

Noyes was arraigned on these charges in early December before Lincoln County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Branford. A six-person jury trial is currently scheduled for late May.

Doug Cottam, district wildlife biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, said, “For years, we have struggled to deal with bear problems that have been created by people ... some people do it deliberately, and some people do it accidentally.”

There have been instances where people have been feeding raccoons, and that food then attracts bears. Cottam said he has seen people feeding raccoons as much as 40 to 60 pounds of dog food a week, and the bears are eating the dog food. Or, people are deliberately feeding the food to the bears. “Some people have told me they thought the bears were hungry, and they had to feed them,” he said.

Two things happen, said Cottam. “The bears become habituated to people, and they become habituated to people food. Most of our bear complaints are from people who are suffering the consequences of bears being used to (people). Our worst neighborhoods, for me, tend to historically be Waldport and Florence. We have, in some cases, a dozen or more bears in a single neighborhood.”

Cottam’s district runs from Florence to Lincoln City, and he said 2008 was his worst years by far for bear problems. “I had 105 bear complaints, (and) we ended up having 37 bears killed outside of the hunting seasons as a result of them causing damage problems, nuisance problems and safety problems.”

Fifteen of those bears were killed for safety related problems, added Cottam. “We only killed a few of those, state police a couple, wildlife services a couple, and the rest were shot by homeowners.” These were bears that were trying to break into people’s homes, or ones repeatedly seen during the daytime that were approaching people. “That’s typically the worst of the safety problems.

“We actively try our best to get people to stop feeding wildlife,” Cottam said. “Many people don’t understand that they’re causing problems for their neighbors, and they’re ultimately causing the death of the animal.”



Steve Card is managing editor for the News-Times. He can be reached at 265-8571 ext. 224, or stevecard@newportnewstimes.com.