By JIM MANN/The Daily Inter Lake
Both grizzly bears that were moved to the Cabinet Mountains this year as part of a population augmentation program now are dead, and a Noxon man was cited for shooting one of them behind his house.
The other young female grizzly bear was killed last week after being hit by a train along the Clark Fork River.
On Oct. 20, Randall Sharp called the Sanders County Sheriff's Office to report that he had shot and killed a bear near his home. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Warden Sgt. Jon Obst responded the same day to the residence, where Sharp told him that he had shot the bear after it returned to get into his trash.
Sharp told Obst that he reported the shooting after he saw that the bear was fitted with a radio collar and appeared to be a grizzly. The bear was wearing a collar that was fitted when it was trapped in the Swan Valley on Aug. 8 and moved to the Cabinet Mountains.
"It's really unfortunate," said Chris Servheen, grizzly bear recovery coordinator with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Missoula. "We recognize that when we move bears this way, some of them will be lost."
But it does not negate the necessity of a project aimed at boosting the imperiled population of grizzly bears in the Cabinet-Yaak recovery area, Servheen said, adding that it also does not signal that it's a futile effort.
Two young female bears moved to the Cabinets two years ago appear to have established home ranges. And it has been confirmed, through DNA analysis, that bears that were moved to the Cabinets in the early 1990s had offspring, which in turn, also had offspring.
Servheen is not sure why the latest transplants chose to move into lower-elevation areas.
"I don't know what they were up to," he said. "It was a good berry year … They just kind of showed up where there's people, down in the valley bottoms."
After an investigation, Obst cited Sharp on Oct. 28 for a single misdemeanor charge of hunting during a closed season and for shooting a grizzly bear when no hunting season is established for the species.
If found guilty, Sharp could be required to pay restitution for the bear.
Servheen said he will be report this year's tally of grizzly bear mortalities on Wednesday in Helena to a committee of land and wildlife managers involved in grizzly bear recovery. He said Monday he still is completing his report and that tally is not yet available.
Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com
jayhawkinatl
Aren't grizzlies protected by federal law??? If so, that guy should have the book thrown at him. Oh, wait...I forgot...one has to remember the state we're talking about here and the typical mentality of its people!!!
Pete
Jayhawk, That's right, oh enlightened one, we cling to guns and religion and we don't equate the worth of a bear with the worth of a human. Go have a latte and a sprig of parsley you elitist, and leave wildlife management to people who have actually stepped foot in the forest.
Rob123
It would be nice to hear the shooters version of what happened. However, one doesn't "shoo" a bear, especially a griz, away. Plus, a good taste of garbage, and they are ruined. "Servheen is not sure why the latest transplants chose to move into lower-elevation areas." Only a couple reasons, and they are all obvious, as Servheen knows. But, a big study will prove it, if it's funded. Nothing to sublime in the realm of gov't funding. Just professionals, getting their piece of the pie.
JA
Jayhawk, why did you move here (obviously your not from here) if you if you have such hate for the people of this state and their views?
apottersdaughter
JA: Thank you
Rob123
" why not just leave it be?..." That is exactly why I would like to hear from the shooter. Bears Roam, for gosh sake.....And steel garbage cans with lids......and....and....If threathened, kill the Bear. But if you live in the woods, and the sight of a bear causes you to kill it, please, move away. Servheen's budget is already big enough.
My2cents
Because I know this guy, he was probably drunk when he shot the bear. Having grown up in that area, it's disappointing to see news like this. It seems the village idiots are always the ones to make the new. For those of you who think that hunters just want to shoot everything that moves, quit watching Bambi. MOST hunters (like MOST loggers) actually care about the environment and want to take care of it so we have something left for our legacy. There's always those idiots in the bunch that ruin it for the rest of us. Yes, the book should be thrown at him for his stupidity. However, grizzlies are not supposed to be in the river valleys. The other griz was hit by a train on the Clark Fork River. Why was it there? Regardless, whether it was a griz or a black bear, he shouldn't have shot it.