Jane Goodall offers support to Minn. bear researcher Lynn Rogers
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Famed scientist Jane Goodall, best known for her 54-year study of African chimpanzees, has lent her support to Lynn Rogers, the embattled black bear researcher in northern Minnesota.
In a letter to Gov. Mark Dayton (posted below), Goodall wrote that Rogers' research "is one of those rare long-term studies where each successive year make the whole that much more valuable."
Goodall is on the International Advisory Board of Rogers' North American Bear Center in Ely, Minn. The state Departement of Natural resources decided last month to revoke Rogers' research permit, which allowed him to put radio collars on bears to study them.
Rogers sued, and after a four-hour meeting with a Ramsey County judge, the two sides agreed to let him keep GPS collars on the 12 bears he is currently studying. But the agreement does not allow Rogers to stream live footage of bear dens over the Internet.
DNR officials argued that Rogers' work creates a public safety hazard. They also have questioned the scientific value of his work.
The case is expected to go before a state administrative law judge in the next six to nine months.
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