MISSOULA — A Washington state man faces a federal trial early next year for taking the claws from a grizzly bear he said he shot in self-defense.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office says 35-year-old Bryan Berg, of Spokane, Washington, is charged with two misdemeanor violations of the Lacey Act, taking the claws and not reporting the shooting, which occurred sometime between September 2017 and March 2018.
He pleaded not guilty to both counts Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Kathleen DeSoto in Missoula. The Missoulian reports his bench trial is scheduled for Jan. 2.
Grizzly bears are protected as a threatened species.