August 15, 1999 Missoulian article by Betsy Cohen: Bear victim says advice saved his life. 

When Cassie Gillis got a phone call from her husband Bruce, who was on his annual camping trip in Glacier  National Park, she thought he was just checking in.

He was. In a calm voice he said: "Hello honey, I'm fine but I'm in the hospital in Kalispell and I've been attacked by a bear," Cassie said from her husband's side at Kalispell Regional Hospital.

"Even in shock he was so thoughtful and calm," she said.

After the call, she immediately flew out from Philadelphia to be with her 42-year-old husband as he recovers from a surprise encounter with a sow grizzly bear and her cub.

Although he's covered head to toe with bandages and feels like he's gone a few rounds in the boxing ring, Gillis said her husband is glad to be eating hospital food right now.

Bruce Gillis said from his hospital bed: "I'm just glad to be talking."

The attack by the bear happened around 11 a.m. Friday while Gillis was hiking about three miles up the Scalplock Lookout Trail near the Walton Ranger Station in the park.

"There was a little curve that hit the trail and she saw me when I saw her," Gillis said. "I dropped down off the trail among the trees and rolled up as much as I could. It happened so fast it's hard to know what happened and what I was thinking," Gillis said.

But one thing he does remember is that the bear gave no warning. No bluff, no woof, no defensive posture she just charged, Gillis said.

He estimated he was about 35 feet away from the bear when it attacked.

Gillis has been camping and exploring in the park for the past 20 years.

"It's a spiritual home for me," Gillis said. "I like it great deal, but I don't know if I'll give it up.. But now, I'm mostly thankful that the bear bit me and moved on and people found me quickly ....

Afterwards I was worried she'd come back and I wouldn't see my wife and my 3-year-old and my 5- year-old girls."

CAG Comment

Great opportunity here for another federal regulation.

• All people anticipating living adjacent to or hiking in core areas; living in or frequenting buffer zones and corridors must acquire, at their expense, insurance policies covering the needs of their loved ones in the event they are incapacitated or killed by a grizzly bear.
• No one will be admitted to these areas without the above described insurance.
• Firearms or other devices to protect your life or property will not be allowed.
• Selling of insurance by the government under this regulation  could pay for itself (a rare occurance) and provide additional revenue.
• It would be a shame to leave people like Cassie and her two daughters unprotected, not to mention people living adjacent to core areas and living in or visiting buffer zones and corridors.

End CAG Comment

About five minutes after the attack, two maintenance workers on horseback encountered Gillis on the trail.

They bandaged his numerous bite wounds and lacerations and put him on one of the horses, he said. One of the workers immediately headed down the trail to get help at the Walton Ranger Station, while the other worker prepared to accompany Gillis.

As they were about to set off, another hiker, Mitchell Sheldon, 43, of Barrington, N.H., yelled for help on the trail above them, said David Eaker, public affairs assistant

CAG Comment

And here in lies the irony of the situation.

Our federal government spends much time and our tax dollars keeping us safe from this, that and the other thing  -- and yet does not think a thing about allowing people to live, go walking and or camping with grizzly bears.

CAG has suggestions for the federal government and its agencies that have been captured by environmental groups:

1. Bitterroot Selway Frank Church Wilderness is covered with poor soil.
2. Grizzly bears need a moist environment.
3. Salmon and Steelhead are gone from the wilderness.
4. 80% whitebark pine has disappeared.
5. Remotely sensed maps are pseudo science.
6. Grizzly bears should have persisted in the Bitterrot Ecosystem (BE) in the face of civilization. [Grizzlies have persisted in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.]
7. 1000 to 3000 bears are more realistic figures to maintain the gene pool.
8. Last and most importanat there is evidence that the Bitterroot Selway Frank Church Wilderness does not contain a quality habitat for grizzly bears.

CAG is against the exploitation of grizzly bears by putting them in a situations where they cannot survive and especially for the purpose of establishing Y to Y.

End CAG Comment

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