The Daily Inter Lake
A Noxon man has pleaded guilty and been fined for killing a grizzly bear when no hunting season for the species is in place.
Randall Sharp entered the plea Dec. 8 in Sanders County Justice Court. Sharp shot the bear on Oct. 20, thinking it was a black bear that was getting into his trash.
It turned out to be a grizzly, protected as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.
The bear was wearing a radio collar and was one of two females relocated from the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem this year to the West Cabinet Mountains as part of an ongoing project aimed at augmenting the imperiled Cabinet-Yaak grizzly bear population.
The other female bear that was moved was hit by a train and killed near the Clark Fork River.
After realizing that it appeared to be a grizzly bear, Sharp contacted the county sheriff's dispatch and reported the incident. Jon Obst, a warden with Montana, Fish, Wildlife and Parks, investigated.
In his recommendation to the judge, Obst noted that Sharp was not cited for a felony because he did not purposely and knowingly shoot a grizzly, he immediately reported the incident and he cooperated with the investigation.
Justice of the Peace Donald Strine fined Sharp $535 and ordered him to pay $2,000 in restitution.
He also must attend a remedial hunter education class and speak to students about target identification. A 60-day jail sentence was suspended, and his hunting privileges are suspended until the other sentencing requirements are met.
Flathead Cop
Photoguy I am third generation in this valley and I agree with you. Those who just buck the system are only making it harder to change the system for those of us who take the right approach.
Art Meister
You two BS'ers are definately not Montanan's and dont't know how to hunt or fish or live off the land like my family or I. You make silly city boy comments and can't even make a reasonable argument about what you're talking about. No comments about the MT fish and game needing to build a fish hatchery up the Flathead river to rejuvinate the Flathead ecosistym. If you were real outdoorsman you'd know that the wolves have decimated the deer and elk herds here in Western Montana. Also, you never answer about the so-called state locking up OUR Roads because of so-called grizzly habitat. The Feds don't want us good ole boys back on OUR Land. As far as Photo Girlie goes there is now way you're a real Montanan or else you were raised with some real real flower sniffers... Why don't you wake up and look at the real facts. Instead of looking at the Real World through a computer or a book I dare you to go for a twenty mile hike by yourself through the back country and make your own assesments on whats really going on. My family has over a 100 years here supporting
Art Meister
Smood what is your IQ? You make about much sense as walking into grandma's house with dog shit on you shoes...
smood
Never having been present at the closed door meetings of the Council of Foreign Relations, I can only make 2 points. 1) more and more areas are being shut down, including my favorite rock climbing area in LA, Williamson Rock (supposedly because of some endangered frog) and 2) after reading the UN Agenda 21 and watching documentaries such as "America, Destroyed by Design" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zoDLI3HszU, I've come to recognize USA is not the Land of the Free. Folks like Photoguy and Artmeister, anyone that can live off the land will attract the wrath of those planning to concentrate everyone in cities/assigned to work brigades. As you know, building a fire flags your location and bam, in the near future will a drone be deployed to kill you? The one world, cashless society detailed in Revelations is on the horizon. and all the Montana outdoorsmen posturing, boasting about their toughness is not addressing the dire tyranny upon us. Will you make use of your superior IQ and nature skills while hiding in the forest from troops serving the anti-Christ, Arty?
PantherMartin
Sentence was too harsh. If someone was breaking into his house and was shot, there would have been an acquittal. This man was excited, perhaps fearful, he took immediate responsibility when the bear was identified- plus it ended up being a bear that had caused problems before. I am sure $2,000 isn't much to a highly paid judge or game warden, but there are many folks who have more needs than giving it to the the State just before Christmas- let alone the humiliation work also given. Very bad decision- the courts are a disgrace filled with arrogant out of touch judges.
jayhawkinatl
BTW...if you can't identify what you're shooting at, you probably shouldn't own a gun!!! Nitwits!!!
1balddude
1
1balddude
punishment fit the crime. Who hasnt made a mistake, jayhawkinatl? He was lucky not to be tried in federal court but he did recognize his mistake right away and admitted to it, then took the proper steps to take care of it. Nice work Obst, way to be a stand up citizen.
redhawk
Okay, the authorities turn a bad bear loose in an area where they don't belong anyway, don't warn anyone that lives there, then collect money from the bear's victims? Great scam. What if this bear had killed the guy, the guy's kids, the guy's livestock or pets? You think the people who transplanted the aggressive giant predator are going to accept any responsibility? Dream on....
Roark
Justice of the Peace Donald Strine is a disgrace and needs to be fired immediately for this atrocious punishment! He is the type of Justice which disgraces our judicial system by giving wild animals precedence over a mans right to protect his property!
monty
Judge should have dismissed the case, especially since the bear had already been moved once. I can understand if the bear was a virgin trouble maker. But we must keep the ecoterroists happy.
enough is enough
Just another worthless animal like the wolve take your green asses and go live with them and see who is lower on the food chain. Oh leave your gun home please.
Art Meister
Who OWNS these animals anyways? We as Americans do. Photoguy needs to go and buy some new Panties and go back to California and hide under a rock. Like my grandpa used to say "If you don't get caught, it ain't illegal. I've shot several wolves out west of town and just left them. The fish and game doesn't care if we have any fish and game to get! They're too stupid to put a fish hatchery up the Flathead River so we could get the salmon fishing back. Heck we could have a chinook fishery here. As for hunting they block all of our road access so you can't even get to back country unless you have horses... Only the Rich get the access.