Closure lifted in Haskill Basin

Temporary closures in Haskill Basin on F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber Co. property have been lifted after cameras found no sign of the bear that attacked a man Oct. 16.

The closure was comprised of Stoltze land in Section 21 and state-owned land in Section 16 west of Haskill Creek Road and was in effect until Monday at the site northeast of Whitefish. A larger initial closure following the attack included land west of Haskill Creek Road and Haskill Basin Road east to Wisconsin Avenue.

The man and his daughter were hiking with two dogs when they passed by a grizzly sow and her cubs in Haskill Basin. The sow ran past the daughter and attacked the man, who used bear spray for defense and sustained non-life-threatening bites to the head, shoulder and wrist. He was transported to the hospital.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks placed cameras at the scene of the attack the next morning and began investigating the attack. While they did capture images of three grizzly bears at the site two days after the attack, FWP believes them to be a different family group than the one in the attack. No bears were seen for the next five days and the cameras were removed Monday night.

FWP is not proposing any further action at the attack site.

FWP reminds people to be careful when recreating in this area and recommends that hunters and other recreationists carry and know how to use bear pepper spray.