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The Associated Press
St. Paul

Legal fight with bear researcher has cost Minnesota $430,000

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Rogers feeds June by hand
Biologist Lynn Rogers hand feeds June, a 300-plus-pound pregnant black bear, in the woods near Ely, Minn., Aug. 30, 2012
Derek Montgomery | For MPR 2012

An ongoing legal battle between the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and an Ely bear researcher has cost taxpayers roughly $430,000.

The fight stems from the state department's refusal to renew Lynn Rogers' longtime bear-research permit, saying his hand-feeding of animals created a risk to the public. Rogers sued but lost, and his appeal is before the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

St. Paul Pioneer Press reports much of the cost stems from last year's nearly two-week legal proceeding before Minnesota's chief administrative judge. Nearly all of the state's cost will likely come from the Department of Natural Resources' Game and Fish Fund.

Rogers tells the newspaper that his Wildlife Research Institute has spent about $420,000 in the legal fight. He says it nearly drained the nonprofit's funds.