Jerry C.:
>>Six miles down the road from our daughters home a man had to shoot a grizzly
>>bear that was in the yard ...
>
Katie S.:
>Your message seems to have been cut off -- where did you say your daughter
>lives? There are VERY few contemporary records of grizzlies in Washington,
>although they are assumed to inhabit the remotest valleys of the North
>Cascades and *possibly* NE Washington as well...

I'll let Jerry answer about where his daughter lives, but I know I was
surprised to see the following "Outdoors Note" in the August 19 Tacoma New
Tribune. Seems like it should have been front-page news:

"Grizzly shot - A Kalispell tribal member shot and killed a 230-pound
grizzly bear Aug. 10 on the Kalispell Indian Reservation near Usk in
northeast Washington's Pend Oreille County, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service reported.

The man said the bear had approached his rural home, and he was
concerned for the safety of his children and others. U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service special agent Roger Parker said the case will be referred to the U.S.
Attorney's Office in Spokane for review, but that no federal charges are
planned.

Grizzlies are listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act,
and killing one illegally could result in fines or imprisonment.

Parker said the man realized the bear was a grizzly only after he had shot it.
He reported the killing to tribal police, who notified other law enforcement
officials."


Eric Kraig
Olympia, WA
kraig at wln.com