Yachats Bear Lady Says She’s Giving Up

A former Yachats woman ordered from her home two years ago for feeding bears has lost another legal challenge.  Karen Noyes now says she’s done fighting.  Noyes, now 63, began feeding wildlife on her Yachats River property in 2002 after her husband was killed in a crash and their 35-year old daughter died.  She had no friends, she said, so feeding the birds, chipmunks and squirrels gave her companionship.

Things got complicated though, when the first bear appeared for a handout.  After complaints from neighbors, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife warned her to stop, but the feeding continued, resulting in damage to neighbor’s property and four bears eventually having to be shot and killed.

Noyes was acquitted on several charges of reckless endangerment, but was convicted of harassing wildlife and ordered to stay away from her home for three years.

She appealed the decision and lost, then took her case to the Oregon Supreme Court.  That panel declined to hear a petition for review of her case… she says she’s done feeding bears as well as with living in Oregon.  She’ll stay in Santa Rosa, California where she’s been living for the past two years.