FWP tells local residents to be aware of bears

The North Central Senior Citizens Center hosted a talk by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Bear Management Specialist Wesley Sarmento Tuesday on how to deal with the increasing presence of grizzly bears in the area safely and prevent encounters with the animals.

Sarmento said the grizzly bear is a protected species at the federal level, but people are still allowed to defend themselves from bears and protect their properties from the animals as long as they don't seriously injure the bears.

Much to his dismay, he said, Montana FWP doesn't have the authority to regulate their population or decl...