A Bigfork man has denied charges that he illegally killed three grizzly bears near his Ferndale property last year.
Dan Calvert Wallen pleaded not guilty to three counts of knowingly and unlawfully taking a grizzly bear, a threatened species, on Jan. 27 during a hearing in U.S. District Court in Missoula.
The case is set for a bench trial on March 10 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah C. Lynch.
Federal prosecutors charged Wallen recently, alleging he shot and killed three grizzlies in May 2014. The bears were regularly approaching Wallen’s residence and chicken coops at the time of their deaths.
Grizzlies are protected under the Endangered Species Act. Each count carries a potential penalty of six months in jail and a $25,000 fine.