Hat Tip: Carolyn Cooke
This took place not far from where I live. Please help if you can.
The bare-bones facts of the case are these:
- In May 2011, a grizzly sow with two cubs entered the property of Jeremy Hill and family. Mr. Hill, his wife, Rachel, and their six children were at home at the time. The children were outside playing when the grizzlies appeared on the Hill property.
- The grizzly sow was at the pen where the Hill’s four pigs were kept when first seen.
- As the grizzly sow climbed the fence to get into the pig pen, Jeremy Hill shot her the first time and she tumbled off the pen. Her next move was to charge toward the Hill home and Jeremy Hill shot her again. Wounded and down, Jeremy Hill then shot her a third time, killing her.
- Fish and Game was called and did assure Hill that his actions were justified. The two cubs had run away when the sow was shot the first time; they have not been found.
- U.S. Fish and Game was notified of the shooting of the grizzly; they did not show up until long after the incident.
- In early August 2011, Jeremy Hill was charged with poaching by a U.S. Attorney.
The Hill family needs our support. The actions of the U.S. Attorney are outrageous, and, if allowed to get away with this, simply because the Hill family does not have the money to fight the charge, anyone, confronted by a wolf or grizzly on their property, having to defend their family, their livestock, their home or their property, will find themselves in this same situation.
The Hill family needs money to pay legal fees. If you can help, the following are the banks where that can be accomplished. Send checks made out to the Jeremy Hill Benefit Account to:
Wells Fargo Bank
6764 Main Street
Bonners Ferry, ID 83805
or go to any Wells Fargo and tell them the account is held at the Bonners Ferry Branch.
Mountain West Bank
PO Box 59
Bonners Ferry, ID 83805
or go to any Mountain West branch and tell them the account is held at the Bonners Ferry Branch.
Panhandle State Bank
P.O. Box 1479
Bonners Ferry, ID 83805
or go to any Panhandle State Bank, Intermountain Community Bank or Magic Valley Bank and tell them the account is held at the Bonners Ferry Branch.
UPDATED: Accounts have been established at all three local bank branches by Idaho for Wildlife
To learn more, visit:
http://www.idahoforwildlife.com/Website%20articles/
Jeremy%20Hill%20grizzly%20incident.pdf
I received word from Kevin Kimp, founder of the Bonners Ferry Chapter of Idaho for Wildlife, who said that all three accounts are monitored by independent, trusted people in the community who have been selected by IFW and Jeremy Hill. “To make it clear,” he wrote, “the Hill family wants nothing to do with the administration of the accounts or the funds in the accounts. Everything will be on the up and up and open to the public for scrutiny and review. We want the public to know there will be full accountability and no misuse of funds donated to the Jeremy Hill Benefit Fund accounts.
The following was posted on The Spokesman Review website, on August 24, 2011:
