Every so often someone in western Montana gets charged by a bear, and that person's reaction renews the tired old arguments about which is a more effective bear deterrent - bear-grade pepper spray or a shotgun.
When it comes to our national parks and wildlife refuges, of course, this argument is purely a mental exercise. If you happen to find yourself in a bear's path while hiking in Glacier or Yellowstone national park, you won't even consider defending yourself with a firearm. If, that is, you're aware of the rules concerning ready-to-fire weapons and national parks.
A few weeks ago 47 senators fired off a letter to Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne urging him to kill the rule against ready-to-fire weapons in national parks and wildlife refuges. Led by Montana Sen. Max Baucus and Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo, this bipartisan group of senators - including Montana's other senator, Jon Tester - would prefer to see see state firearms laws applied within these federal lands.
They're framing it as a Second Amendment issue, just as former Virginia Sen. George Allen did nearly two years ago when he introduced new legislation aimed at allowing loaded and readily accessible guns in national parks. That bill was swiftly shot down, so to speak, and we predict this latest attempt will meet a similar fate. It's certainly attracting some strong opposition.
Unfortunately, in the rush to support or oppose the ban some pretty outlandish claims are being thrown around.
Supporters of the current ban are probably right to worry that ready-to-fire weapons would only encourage poaching - which is already an all-too-frequent occurrence. But they go a step too far in predicting mobs of drunken gun nuts shooting off rounds in campgrounds. We must point out that this simply isn't the case on public lands where ready-to-fire weapons have been allowed for many years. At least, not in Montana.
For their part, those pushing to lift the ban have been relying heavily on the Second Amendment. But the current rules don't prohibit guns; they merely require that firearms be kept unloaded or out of immediate reach.
While this may irk some people who rely on their firearms for personal protection, the fact is that the crime rate on national park lands is incredibly low - despite the picture you may get from some high-profile kidnappings and murders in places like Yosemite.
Of course, there are also those high-profile reports of bear attacks. In recent months the Missoulian has reported two such encounters; a Stevensville man was attacked in October while hunting near the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, and a Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks commissioner was charged near Whitefish Lake a few weeks later. Both men were armed, but only the FWP commissioner escaped unhurt.
It seems as though the isolated experiences of individuals have a way of encouraging some people to question the prevailing wisdom. When it comes to pepper spray, tomes of scientific studies have concluded that bear-grade pepper spray is, in fact, an effective bear deterrent.
“Even better is, try to avoid that kind of a situation,” says to Jerry Case, chief for regulations and special park uses for the National Park Service.
That means taking some common-sense steps to avoid bear encounters. While recreating in the backcountry, make noise, stay in groups and stay alert. And if you do see a bear, for Pete's sake leave it alone.
If, having taken every possible precaution, you still find yourself staring down a charging bear - use the pepper spray. Used correctly, it can deter attacks from both humans and bears.
And it's perfectly legal, not to mention advisable, to carry bear pepper spray in a ready-to-use state - even in our national parks and wildlife refuges.
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