A Montana outfitter is facing a $10,000 fine after he allegedly shot a grizzly bear during spring black bear hunting season, then failed to report the killing to authorities on time.
According to federal law, anyone who kills a grizzly must report it to state and/or federal wildlife agents within five days.
Federal investigators say outfitter Bryant Mikkelson waited two weeks to report killing a grizzly bear on May 27. He allegedly sent other people text messages and photographs of himself posing with the dead grizzly.
He was charged with failing to report the taking of a grizzly bear, according to court documents. He made a plea agreement with prosecutors, who recommended that he be fined $10,000 and sentenced to one year of probation.
A change of plea hearing for Mikkelson is set for Sept. 9.
Wyoming Hunter Had Similar Experience
Hunter Joel Proffit of Cody on Wednesday told Cowboy State Daily that Bryant’s situation somewhat mirrors what happened to him and his son, Fisher, in the spring of 2022.
They were hunting black bears on the North Fork when Proffit gave his son, then 13, the go-ahead to shoot a bear that he was convinced was a black bear, only to find out it was a grizzly.
However, unlike Mikkelson was alleged to do, Proffit reported his mishap right away.
“We reported it that night, and I have video to prove it was a case of mistaken identity,” he said.
Proffit was ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution to the State of Wyoming for the dead grizzly and serve one year of unsupervised probation.
His record has since been cleared, he said.
Tough To Distinguish The Species
Proffit said his experience drives home the point of how difficult it can be to distinguish between black bears and grizzlies – and he wonders if Mikkelson made the same mistake.
Despite the “black” in their species name, black bears come in an array of colors, as do grizzlies. So, the species can frequently share the same color of fur.
Some distinguishing features on grizzlies include smaller ears, a dish-shaped face, a shoulder hump and long front claws.
But those features aren’t always readily visible, Proffit said.
In the case of the bear his son shot in 2022, he said video he took of the hunt proves how much it looked like a black bear.
“I’ve shown that video to thousands of people,” including highly-experienced bear hunters, and it stumped nearly everybody, he said.
Sometimes, even top experts mistake grizzlies for black bears.
In 2013, Luke Ellsbury, who had been a state bear management specialist for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, killed a grizzly east of Yellowstone National Park. He claimed to have mistaken it for a black bear.
Pleading guilty, Ellsbury was ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution, according to reports from that time.
In The Realm Of Prairie Grizzlies
Investigators say that Mikkelson, of Timber Mountain Outfitters, shot the grizzly in Chouteau County, Montana, in the Highwood Mountains.
The Highwood Mountains are an isolated island range – rising from the surrounding prairies in northwest Montana.
Grizzlies for years have been reclaiming prairie habitat in northwest and north-central Montana.
Residents of the tiny prairie towns of Augusta and Belt, Montana – which are near the Highwood Mountains – previously told Cowboy State Daily that they’re increasingly seeing grizzles out away from the mountains. And there have been instances of bears attacking livestock.
Penalties Too Stiff?
Given his experience and the similar experiences of others, Proffit said he’s convinced that the penalties for accidently killing grizzlies are too stiff.
Fines or restitution payments of $10,000 seem excessive, he said.
“If he (Mikkelson) had reported it right away, would the penalty be less?” he said.
His own case could have been worse.
He previously told Cowboy State Daily that it looked at first as if Fisher was going to be nailed with maximum federal penalties, which could have included fines of up to $25,000.
Grizzlies in Wyoming and the rest of the Greater Yellowstone area remain under special Endangered Species protection, so UFSWS agents usually have the first crack at prosecuting cases of grizzlies being wrongfully killed.
However, because Proffit and his son reported the incident immediately and cooperated fully, the USFWS opted to hand the case over to Game and Fish.
He said they hired an attorney and reached a plea agreement with prosecutors. Proffit agreed to enter a plea of no contest for being an accessory to killing the grizzly in exchange for his son being cleared of any possible charges.
He said that neither he nor his son lost hunting privileges in connection to the case.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
