MISSOULA–– Several Montana-based organizations and citizens have sent a petition to the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks requesting the initiation of rulemaking that would require Montana hunters to carry bear spray on their person while hunting in grizzly bear habitat. The rule would apply in Montana generally west of Billings and Fort Belknap.
The petitioners are Mike Bader; Western Watersheds Project; WildWest Institute; Friends of the Wild Swan; Montana Chapter of the Sierra Club; Great Bear Foundation; Friends of the Rattlesnake; Friends of the Bitterroot; Claudia Narcisco; Lance Olsen; Patricia Ames and Dr. Lee Metzgar.
The petition states: “Conflicts between hunters and grizzly bears have significantly increased in recent years in the Northern Continental Divide area and the Montana portion of the Greater Yellowstone area. These have included the severe mauling of several hunters and numerous grizzly bears killed in Defense of Life (DOL) incidents. Many occurred when hunters used firearms during encounters because they were not carrying bear spray.
Taken in sum, there were 13 hunter-related DOL grizzly bear kills within the borders of Montana in 2017 alone, an alarming statistic.
…grizzly bears have been expanding their range in Montana, increasing the overlap between big game hunters and grizzly bears. The Department has said that people can possibly encounter a grizzly bear in all of the mountainous western two-thirds of Montana.”
The groups present scientific evidence that bear spray is highly effective in repelling bears in bear-human conflicts and requiring that it be carried by hunters could reduce conflicts that result in serious injury or death to hunters and the preventable death of grizzly bears, the Montana State Animal.
The rule as proposed to be adopted would provide as follows:
1. Safety While Hunting in Grizzly Bear Habitat.
(a) A person engaged in hunting activity in the State of Montana west of 108.5 longitude West shall carry bear spray on their person while engaged in hunting activity in the field;
(b) A person convicted of a violation of this section shall be punished by a fine of not less than $20 or more than $50.
Under state law, FWP must either reject the petition or initiate the rulemaking process within 60 days and provide a written explanation for the decision. A public hearing and oral presentation was requested.
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