Boundary County Clashes

Earlier this summer, at rancher Darcy Lammer’s place Darcy called conservation officers and they set up a snare to catch a rogue grizzly who was menacing livestock and people. Then something alarming happened: “because I've been notified by Fish and Game that there's a collared Grizzly Bear within a mile of your house right now.

 

And I was standing there with my pistol and I turned around and I saw the bear coming up from the back corner of the corral rifle. I mean, right headed right back towards us. I was standing in front of a bar and didn't know where my kids were. And that bears, what, 20 yards or less away from me?

 

I hollered for my kids to get to the barn and get safe.

 

I pulled my pistol and held it on the bear and all the can go through your mind. That's that point is I need to protect my family. But if I pull this trigger, I'm going to jail.

 

That bear was snared in a trap, but it took U.S. Fish and Wildlife. More than 13 hours to get the bear relocated.

 

Nobody thought about the safety of me and my family for 13 hours.

 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife says their hands are tied and change will come when bear populations increase.

 

Wayne Kasworm U.S. Fish and Wildlife: We're not quite to the point of talking about de-listing here, but I'd like to say we're making progress here and making very good progress as far as moving towards those goals.

 

Boundary Counties, Highway 1 corridor. We'll continue to see clashes between grizzly bears and ranchers, but the ranchers and federal managers are talking and working together for the boy surviving no agriculture.