Tools

FWP criticizes Yellowstone Club after bear killed

Story Created: Aug 24, 2010 at 5:00 AM MST

Story Updated: Aug 24, 2010 at 10:00 AM MST

BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) — The ultra-exclusive Yellowstone Club is being criticized after an employee accidentally shot and killed a mother black bear on resort grounds earlier this month.

Pat Flowers is director of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks' Region 3. He sent a letter to the club's general manager last week saying the resort has a pattern of taking wildlife management into its own hands with lethal consequences.

A security guard is charged with killing the bear Aug. 11 after firing what he thought was a rubber bullet -- but was in fact a live round -- to haze the bruin away from a paintball course. He is scheduled to appear before a Madison County judge next week.

Flowers' letter criticizes the club for using paintballs that contain vegetable oil, which can attract bears, and for not consulting with FWP. He also says that after the bear was killed, club management was more concerned about what information would be released to the media than with the welfare of the two orphaned cubs.

Charlie Callander, the club's vice president of marketing and sales, called parts of the letter "a little bit overstated" and says the club takes the bear's death seriously.

___

Information from: Bozeman Daily Chronicle, http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com

Add a comment

Name:

Comment: 1000 Characters Left

News, Sports, Weather for Great Falls, Helena, and all of Montana and its affiliated companies are not responsible for the content of comments posted or for anything arising out of use of the above comments or other interaction among the users. We reserve the right to screen, refuse to post, remove or edit user-generated content at any time and for any or no reason in our absolute and sole discretion without prior notice, although we have no duty to do so or to monitor any Public Forum.

Great Falls & Helena Weather

Icon
Great Falls Great Falls Intl Airport, MT
Current Temp 31.0 °F
Overcast
Wind : North at 5.8 MPH (5 KT)
Pressure : 1026.0 mb
Humidity : 61 %
Icon
Helena Helena Regional, MT
Current Temp 30.0 °F
Partly Cloudy
Wind : Calm
Pressure : 1028.5 mb
Humidity : 75 %
Click here for our video forecast
More Weather
This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.

AP Video