Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks

Fourteen black bears were killed last week following an investigation at a Bozeman-area home. Game wardens say the bears had stopped relying on natural foods and were completely unafraid of humans.

“Unprecedented.” That’s the word wildlife managers keep using to describe bear conflicts in Red Lodge. “This year has really been kind of off the charts in terms of conflicts,” says Chrissy Webb, a spokesperson with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.

State wildlife officials Tuesday released more information on Montana's latest bear attack. According to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, evidence collected at the site of the incident confirms a hunter was attacked by a grizzly bear Monday morning.

A Montana man was attacked by a bear Monday morning while he was archery hunting near Augusta.

Two young adult grizzly bears euthanized in the Lincoln-area were quickly earning a reputation for getting into food-related conflicts. Fish, Wildlife & Parks spokesperson Vivica Crowser says the trouble started in late August. Bears are even more food-focused than normal heading into autumn this year.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks released new details about a bear attack near Columbia Falls that left a woman with serious injuries. Evidence at the scene revealed the bear was a grizzly sow traveling with at least one cub-of-the-year.

The search is on for a bear in the Columbia Falls-area that attacked a woman Monday. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and U.S. Forest Service investigators say a woman who was walking her dog sustained significant injuries following the attack.

Northwest Montana has a below-average huckleberry crop this year. That means bears are now looking for alternative food sources and getting into trouble as a result.

Forecasters say a high-pressure system will continue to send smoke from wildfires in Oregon and Washington for the foreseeable future. Montana's mule deer population is on an upswing, according to survey results released by Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks.

Veterans Affairs appoints a new director for Montana, and a large conservation easement is proposed in Central Montana.