Wildlife managers have reopened access to Haskill Basin north of Whitefish following an Oct. 16 bear attack that left a man injured.
The temporary closure has been lifted on F.H. Stoltze land in section 21 and state land in Section 16 located west of Haskill Creek Road.
This popular recreation area was closed after a man, his grown daughter and their dogs startled an adult grizzly sow and her two cubs feeding on a deer carcass about 35 yards off of the road.
The man deterred the bear during the attack with pepper spray, but he suffered injuries to his wrist, shoulder and head.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials removed the deer carcass and placed cameras in the area following the attack. The cameras captured images of a family group of three grizzly bears at the site two days after the attack; however, officials do not believe these bears were involved in the attack.
According to a press release from FWP, the bears involved in the attack are believed to be a sow with cubs of the year. The bears on the camera are believed to be a sow with yearlings.
The bears were only observed on one occassion and appear to have moved on from the scene once they discovered there was no longer a food reward at the attack site.
No other bears were seen on the cameras for the next 5 days; the cameras were pulled last night.
FWP is not proposing any further action at this location at this time. Officials reminded people to be careful when recreating in this area. FWP recommends that hunters and other recreationists carry and know how to use bear pepper spray.
FWP has received numerous reports of both black and grizzly bears in the areas around Whitefish, Columbia Falls, Eureka, Bigfork, and along the north and east side of the Flathead Valley. Landowners are reminded to pick fruit off their trees to prevent damage to their trees and pick up all fruit off the ground to avoid attracting bears.