A judge says a man who killed a grizzly bear in northwestern Montana must talk to young hunters about proper identification of targets.
That’s part of the penalty imposed on Noxon resident Randall Sharp, who said that in October he shot a bear for getting into garbage. Sharp says he mistook the grizzly for a black bear.
He did not have a license to hunt black bear and pleaded guilty to hunting during a closed season.
Grizzly bears in northwestern Montana are federally protected, but Sharp was not charged with a felony because he did not shoot the grizzly knowingly and quickly reported it to state wildlife officials.
Justice of the Peace Donald M. Strine ordered Sharp to pay $2,000 in restitution, ordered him to attend a remedial hunter education class and to speak to young hunters about target identification.