July 24, 1998 Missoulian article, Grizzly loiters in Lincoln - It peers in windows, hangs at the flea market By SHERRY DEVLIN of the Missoulian
And while game wardens say they'd gladly give the bear a ride out of town if they could lure it into a trap, one Lincoln man said Thursday he's angry about the State's "lackadaisical" response and threatened to shoot the grizzly.
"I'm at my wit's end," said Don Pruett, a beekeeper whose Third Street honey house is known to - and apparently coveted by - the grizzly. I've told the state and the feds both I am going to shoot the bear. If that means going to jail, then I guess I'm ready to go."
Grizzly bears are a threatened species, protected by the federal Endangered Species Act.
Lloyd Acker, a warden sergeant with the state Department of Fish Wildlife and Parks in Missoula, said the grizzly is only wondering around Lincoln, not threatening people, not damaging property, not even raiding the many garbage cans it ambles past on its daily rounds. Callers have reported the bear walking through their yards and occasionally into their garages. Last weekend, it was spotted in Hooper Park just as a three-day flea market was ending. Early Thursday, it was on Highway 200, feeding on a road kill deer.
"He's not a bad bear," Acker said. "The way I look at it is, he's just a bear that needs to be moved to a more suitable location. We'd like to get him out of Lincoln before he gets into trouble."
"Or gets shot", Acker said.
Acker spent Wednesday night and early Thursday parked outside of Pruett's house, on alert after the beekeeper threatened to shoot the bear.
Pruett called the warden about 9 o'clock Wednesday night, shortly after he looked out the window of his house and discovered the grizzly bear looking back at him, "pondering coming in." When he called Acker, the warden laughed. Pruett didn't.
"There's nothing funny about this," Pruett said Thursday morning. "I haven't slept all night. My honey crop starts coming in next week. That bear is a threat to our livelihood and to our lives."
"I've talked to absolutely everybody to try and get them to resolve this problem," he said. "Nobody seems all that concerned."
The grizzly is 2 or 3 years old, still a juvenile, and about 250-275 pounds. It is darker colored on his hindquarters, blonder and silver tipped on its shoulders and head.
Pruett said he's seen and heard the grizzly at night for weeks, but now sees the animal during daylight hours as well. Sometimes, he said, the bear bangs on the door of his honey house, but has never succeeded in getting inside. Pruett's believes the bear will eventually come through a window.
Acker, though, said Pruett is the only angry Lincoln resident to have called Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Many others have called to report sightings of the grizzly and to help the local warden - Jeff Campbell - try to catch the bear.
Campbell did manage to fire a tranquilizer dart into the grizzly on July 10. He loaded the animal into a culvert trap and called federal endangered species officials to ask where they'd like it relocated.
A bear biologist for the Fish and Wildlife Service told Campbell the animal needed to stay on that end of the Bob Marshall Wilderness because the area is grizzly-short. He referred Campbell to the U.S. Forest Service for a specific relocation site; wildlife officers there sent him up Copper Creek, just 10 air miles from Lincoln, 15 or 20 ground miles.
"Heck, he was back in town in two days," Campbell said. "Generally, I don't take a bear less than 50 miles on a relocation."
"Yes, I was surprised when I heard where they sent Jeff with that bear," Acker said. "It was too close to town. But it wasn't our call. It's a federal decision."
If he catches the grizzly again, though, Campbell said he will insist on a much-more distant relocation. In fact, Acker already has suggested a spot and is working with federal officials to get the necessary approval.
But it's just not that easy to lure a grizzly bear into a trap, Acker said. Campbell has one culvert trap in Lincoln and was in search of several snares late Thursday. If he gets the chance, he'll also try to dart the bear.
"Folks have been real good about calling and telling me which way it is headed, so I can try to catch up with him," Campbell said. "It really isn't an aggressive bear. People generally holler at it and it moseys off. It's never come at anyone.
No one wants to wait, though, until the bear gets grumpy. No one wants the bear to take a liking to garbage or livestock. Everyone, Acker assured, is trying to get the grizzly out of Lincoln.
"Well, they're a month late," came Pruett's complaint.
"We're trying," said Acker.
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