Incline Village couple suing Bear League
By Jeff DeLong, Reno Gazette-Journal
A Lake Tahoe couple who claims they were harassed and subjected to death threats after reporting a problem-causing bear that was later killed by authorities have sued a nonprofit bear advocacy group they contend was responsible for the harassment.
Richard and Adrienne Evans of Incline Village sued the Bear League and the organization’s founder, Ann Bryant, seeking unspecified damages in connection with the December 2013 incident at the upscale north Tahoe community.
Through the suit, filed Dec. 8 in the Washoe District Court, the Evans hope to alter a pattern of behavior that has people properly reporting black bear problems to Nevada wildlife officials subject to harmful harassment by critics, said the couple’s Reno attorney, Sean Rose.
An attorney representing Bryant and the Bear League did not return repeated phone calls by the Reno Gazette-Journal. In an answer to the complaint filed in District Court Dec. 30, central allegations made in the Evans’ complaint were denied, including that the Bear League urged and encouraged the alleged harassment.