June 20, 1999 Missoulian article: Treed hiker kills grizzly -- Jewel Basin closed for safety -- by Michael Jamison
CAG Comments
This article just goes to emphasize why grizzly bears should not be introduced into the Selway Bitteroot Frank Church Wilderness. The environment provided by the above mentioned wildernesses is of a more arid nature and subsequently, while bears have roamed through the area they have not set up housekeeping like the bears in the Sweetwater Hills.
A contention of the bureaucracy, that has been captured by environmental interest group, is that the grizzly bear is a threatened species. Not true.
JEWEL BASIN - A man who scrambled up a small tree to escape a grizzly bear Saturday afternoon will likely not be prosecuted for shooting the animal to death.
The hiker, whose name has not been released, was camped in the Big Hawk Lake area of the Jewel Basin when the bear attacked. The area around Trail No. 722 has since been closed, but although the Jewel Basin is a popular hiking spot, officials say the temporary closure should affect few, as the mountains east of Kalispell remain encased in snow.
According to Jim DeHerrera, district ranger for the Glacier View and Hungry Horse Ranger Districts, the man spotted the adult sow grizzly and her two subadult cubs while the bears were still some ways off. Fearing for his safety, the man climbed at least one tree, shouting and shooting to warn the bruins of his presence. Despite, or perhaps because of, the noise, the female grizzly approached, DeHerrera said.
When the bear came within feet of the tree, the man finally fired down, killing the large sow.
Sunday, state wildlife officials packed into the scene with llamas, obtaining a special exemption; from DeHerrera's office to bring the animals into an area where stock is not usually allowed. There, they stripped the bear of its hide, claws and ivory. teeth, worried that someone might hike in to "steal" those relatively valuable bear parts.
They abandoned a plan to pack out the entire carcass, however, "when it got late on them and looked like a bigger job than they had time for," DeHerrera said.
Because the carcass has been left for scavengers, he said, forest officials opted to close the trail, as the meat could attract other bears.
"We don't want anyone going in there and getting hurt," he said. "The closure will give it some time to cool off."
DeHerrcra said he was uncertain exactly how many grizzly bears have been killed this spring in and around the Flathead, but did admit that "it seems like we've lost quite a few already. Last year, we killed more than we had ten years, and this year isn't looking much better so far."
State wildlife officials, who said the investigation into the bear's death as still ongoing, would say little of the incident pending a review by law enforcement. Because grizzlies are protected under the Endangered Species Act, both county and federal officials will have to review the case before the file is closed. For now, however, officials said everything points to self defense, and there are no current plans to prosecute.