The Daily Inter Lake

A Noxon man has pleaded guilty and been fined for killing a grizzly bear when no hunting season for the species is in place.

Randall Sharp entered the plea Dec. 8 in Sanders County Justice Court. Sharp shot the bear on Oct. 20, thinking it was a black bear that was getting into his trash.

It turned out to be a grizzly, protected as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.

The bear was wearing a radio collar and was one of two females relocated from the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem this year to the West Cabinet Mountains as part of an ongoing project aimed at augmenting the imperiled Cabinet-Yaak grizzly bear population.

The other female bear that was moved was hit by a train and killed near the Clark Fork River.

After realizing that it appeared to be a grizzly bear, Sharp contacted the county sheriff's dispatch and reported the incident. Jon Obst, a warden with Montana, Fish, Wildlife and Parks, investigated.

In his recommendation to the judge, Obst noted that Sharp was not cited for a felony because he did not purposely and knowingly shoot a grizzly, he immediately reported the incident and he cooperated with the investigation.

Justice of the Peace Donald Strine fined Sharp $535 and ordered him to pay $2,000 in restitution.

He also must attend a remedial hunter education class and speak to students about target identification. A 60-day jail sentence was suspended, and his hunting privileges are suspended until the other sentencing requirements are met.