FREMONT COUNTY, Idaho — Two Ashton men have been charged in the illegal killing of a grizzly bear, discovered at the Little Warm River in Fremont County in early April of 2021.
On April 9, 2021, Fish and Game Officers, accompanied by a Fremont County Deputy, responded to a mortality signal emanating from a radio collar of a research grizzly bear.
The signal from the collar led investigators to the Little Warm River, where they found the carcass of a grizzly bear, half-submerged in the river. The initial examination determined the bear had not died of natural causes and a bullet was retrieved from the rib cage.
The bear was removed and taken in for further examination; x-rays revealed 12 bullets and one bullet fragment.
Fish and Game staff visited the bear's known den site afterward and found the body of a deceased male grizzly cub that had perished as a result of the sow's absence.
On Nov. 8, 2021, Jared and Rex Baum admitted to shooting the bear to Idaho Fish and Game officers.
Jared Baum said he had shot at the bear, but initially thought it was a black bear, although there was not an open season on black bears at the time. Jared said he shot the bear 40 times as it ran downstream towards the Little Warm River before realizing his mistake.
After Jared recognized the bear as a grizzly, he said he realized he had shot it too many times and the bear was going to die, so he figured he should just kill it.
Eventually, Jared also admitted he was not alone in shooting the bear; his father, Rex Baum had accompanied him.
Jared said once they saw a press release from Fish and Game searching for information on the deceased grizzly bear, and realized the grizzly was collared, he disposed of the two Ruger-57 handguns that had been used by him and his father to kill the bear and tossed them into a lake.
Bonneville County Search and Rescue Dive Team did a search of the pond but did not recover the firearms.
Jared Baum, as part of a plea deal, pleaded guilty to a felony and was sentenced to 30 consecutive days in the Fremont County jail; he will receive three years of probation, with two of those years fixed, and three years indeterminate sentence suspended, along with $2,500 in fines plus court costs, $10,000 in civil penalties, and a lifetime hunting revocation in all 48 member states.
Rex Baum pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and was sentenced to 180 days in jail; 177 suspended, 3 days to serve in the Fremont County jail, $1,000 in fines plus court costs, $400 civil penalty, and a 10-year hunting revocation in 48 states.
Idaho Fish and Game thanks everyone involved in the case, and for their help in protecting wildlife.
The Fremont County Sherriff's Department, the Bonneville County Search and Rescue Dive Team, the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team, and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service were all a part of the investigation.
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