SEELEY LAKE - Speaking of horrendous and cold hearted, I would venture to say that the following are also under the category of “horrendous” and “cold hearted.” First being the spreading of inaccuracies and gossip about an event that you were A. not a witness to and B. not a part of. Second, the slandering and disrespect to our Law Enforcement/Game Warden. Third, not having the decency to go to the source (the Hunter) to get the facts for yourself but instead passive-aggressively writing a letter to the editor based on third and fourth hand gossip just for the purpose of stirring our small town pot.
I will address all the misinformation (called “facts”) and inaccuracies put forth in the Oct. 13 letter to the editor and then I will offer my own opinion (as there is a difference between facts and opinion, we all know).
The real and undistorted truth (facts) about the legal bear hunt that occurred near Dogtown last month are these.
The bear was not hazed nor chased for “over an hour” before a friend with a tag was called. In actuality the family member with the tag was informed of the bear’s arrival onto legal hunting property before any person or persons even left the home and property that the bear had just traversed across. The hunt itself took place in under 20 minutes.
As for the dog in the back of the men’s truck – that dog is completely made up. The hunters did not use a dog, nor was a dog present at any point - in the truck, on the ground or otherwise.
As far as a property owner yelling to the hunters to “leave the bear alone,” unfortunately there is no real evidence of this and no quoted two witnesses were ever cited to back up this claim.
And lastly - claiming the bear was not a “fed” bear is, again, just misinformation and apparently just another matter of opinion. In MY opinion, it was a menace to the town as it repeatedly returned to rummage in trash cans and eat off of fruit trees in residents’ yards. Last time I checked, it was Montana Fish, Wildlife and Park’s job to determine which bears are, or are not, a threat to our community.
Furthermore, these hunters do NOT belong in jail and do NOT deserve fines. Why? Because what they did was deemed legal by the law enforcement that we have been blessed with in Seeley Lake. The tag checked out, the location checked out and the hunt was deemed 100 percent legal after Warden Bill Koppen visited the location of the kill and inspected the bear tag.
Now that the facts have been more accurately put forth, I’d like to briefly share my opinion of the incident itself, from an “ethical” point of view.
What I know for sure is this, the hunt was legal. The hunter harvested that bear and is feeding his family with it this winter. The hunter is an active and moral and caring member of this community. I have the pleasure of working with this man every day, and in my darkest hour of need when my husband’s chainsaw hit him in the face, this hunter (and friend and paramedic) rushed with me to my husband’s side. This man had no malicious intentions, nor was this man hunting in ignorance.
Thank you Seeley Lake for reading this “other side” of the story, and may you be safe, healthy and blessed this winter.
Thank you, Elinor, for the truly useful bear safety tips you put forth in your letter to the editor. As a mother, pet owner, wife and outdoorswoman, I appreciate you looking out for the community. Best wishes.
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