Grizzly bear population out of control

I've lived here in the Swan Valley since June of 1963 and spent my whole life in the woods, rivers and lakes, but mostly in the mountains. I've fished and hunted mostly for whitetail deer, elk, and grouse since I turned 12 years of age.

On Nov. 13, 2023, I went to hunt one of my favorite places just south of the town of Swan Lake. I had just got into the woods a few hundred yards when a huge sow grizzly came around the corner at about 26 yards on the old logging road I was walking. She reared up partially and charged me. Lucky for me it was a bluff charge. 

When she went back to where she appeared she joined her two full grown sub-adult cubs. I stood my ground with my measly 30-06 rifle and hollered at them to leave three times. She and her cubs took turns checking me out four times before finally leaving. I'm just lucky to still be alive, because if she'd kept coming so would have her cubs that stood almost as tall as her. 

My point is that we have way too many grizzlies in this country. 

Everywhere I hunt, if there is mud or snow on the ground, there are fresh grizzly tracks. I don't mean a week or more old, but very fresh. 

I'm a very dedicated hunter but I and all the other hunters I know are fed up with the number of grizzlies in this country. We not only need to delist the grizzlies, but we need to start hunting them again to thin out their numbers. Hunters can't even enjoy a leisure or serious hunt without worrying about grizzlies taking away their animal if they do shoot something. 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service doesn't want the public to know how many grizzlies are "really out there." 

How no one was seriously mauled or killed during the hunting season in the Swan Valley alone is amazing. If someone is mauled and lives through it, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service should have to pay for any medical bills incurred by that person or persons, to say the least. 

Back in the 1980s hunting was great and enjoyable, now between the grizzlies and wolves, it's a joke and getting very frustrating. I have a neighbor who was charged by a grizzly in his front yard and is also lucky to be alive. This state must do something, we are being over-run with grizzlies. 

I've run into or clearly seen 14 different grizzlies over the years that I can confirm, plus other close bear encounters where I could clearly identify the bear. People worry about grizzly mortalities in this state, but what about the grizzlies that are killed by other grizzlies? 

God gave us dominion over the animals, birds, and fish, so let's take control of the problem. It's pretty sad when a grizzly bear has more rights than us human beings. 

My hope is that our congressmen and women can do what is needed to alleviate our grizzly bear problem and give the great state of Montana back to the people who live, hunt and fish here. The grizzlies have lost their natural fear of man because we haven't hunted them in so long. The bears are acting just like those in Glacier and Yellowstone parks.

How many people have to die from Grizzly attacks before we do something? 

Dale Jorgenson lives in Ferndale.