Why we need the Guns in National Parks passed

[usmarine0352_2005]

Campgrounds Near Yellowstone National Park Closed After Bear Bites Camper
Friday, July 18, 2008

HELENA, Mont. — A bear attacked a person sleeping inside a tent early Thursday, leading authorities to close two campgrounds near Yellowstone National Park.

The camper suffered bite and claw marks on his arms while protecting himself. His name and age weren't disclosed. Authorities said he was taken to West Park Hospital in Cody, Wyo., which refused to release any information.

As a precaution, the U.S. Forest Service closed the Soda Butte campground, where the camper was attacked, and the nearby Chief Joseph campground, both in the Gallatin National Forest. The sites are along U.S. 212, a few miles from the northeast entrance to Yellowstone National Park.

Forest spokeswoman Marna Daley said the bear was believed to be a grizzly. She didn't know how many people were evacuated from the campgrounds.

The camper apparently had stored his food properly, Daley said. She didn't know if he was camping alone.

The Forest Service said in a statement that the campgrounds will remain closed "until the bear is located or the immediate concern subsides."

The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks will decide how to deal with the bear. In previous cases, problem bears have been relocated to more remote areas.

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[rdalrymple]

Not in a national park, but similar story here ... Further illustrates the need to have the means to protect yourself.

OCONEE COUNTY — U.S. Forest Service officials closed the Long Bottom Ford Campground, also known as the Low Water Bridge Campground, in Oconee County on Thursday because of a recent black bear encounter.

The campground is on Low Water Bridge Road off S.C. 28 in Oconee County.

“According to campers at the site, a black bear ripped open an individual’s tent in search of food,” said Mike Crane, Andrew Pickens District Ranger, according to a Forest Service news release. “Reports also came in of a mother bear and three cubs at the site.”

No one was injured at the site by a bear, said Michelle Burnett of the Forest Service.

All campers at the primitive campground have been asked to leave as soon as possible. The campground will remain closed for at least a week while Forest Service personnel continue to monitor the site, according to the release. Once food sources are removed from the campground, the bear and her cubs likely will leave the site, according to Skip Still, a certified wildlife biologist for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

“Although some people may be disappointed that we are closing the campground and disrupting their vacation, the safety of our visitors is our absolute No. 1 priority,” Crane said. “When it comes to protecting the public, we always err on the side of caution. It’s definitely better to be safe than sorry.”

A black bear alert remains posted on the Francis Marion and Sumter National Forests’ Web site for the Andrew Pickens Ranger District. If left alone, bears generally are not dangers to people, according to the release. Bears can become a nuisance, however, if they find food in or around campsites, garbage cans, picnic areas, coolers, tents or vehicles that are left open.

 

[ilbob]

seems like these were all in national forests where carry is allowed pursuant to local laws.

 

[usmarine0352_2005]

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At least people are allowed to carry there.


Whether people choose to or not is their choice.

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[Carl Levitian]

Why do we need carry in the national parks?

Gary Hilton, and others like him!

 

[TallPine]

FYI

I've seen RVs and buildings that were torn apart by black bears looking for food. So it isn't just tents that you have to worry about.

 

[Starship1st]

Yes we do need to be able to carry fire arms in national parks. There are many wild animal attacks each year and this alone is a good reason to allow carry.

Factor in the criminal element and it is justified to change the laws.

 

[Shung]

waken up by a bear bite... THAT must be an experience !

Now I know why I had hard time getting asleep during the 3 nights I spent into the wild around yellowstone.. (unarmed.. even if it was allowed, i couldnt being a foreigners.. My 50-90 1876 Uberti Winchester would do just fine there)

 

[TexasRifleman]

seems like these were all in national forests where carry is allowed pursuant to local laws.

So you're saying the bears read the signs and stay out of National Parks?

The point is the argument that bear attacks do not happen on public land is clearly flawed.

Whether or not people choose to arm themselves is not the argument at all.

 

[dmazur]

So you're saying the bears read the signs and stay out of National Parks?

No, the bears are reading the visitor's pamphlets with the regulations clearly spelled out and they know the parks are a gun-free zone...therefore they can attack visitors with impunity!

 

[murph50]

Bet the dude had food in his tent.
When you enter a natural area you are entering the wildlife's home. You don't use the proper precautions or common sense--you may get hurt. That's the way it is--nature doesn't care.
I've never had to worry about an animal and I'm in the woods a lot.
Now I am all for carrying in Nat. Parks but it's not the animals I am concerned about. It's the humans that break into vehicles --rob campsites--and mug the people on hiking trails.
Bear attacks are really rare and usually the human has done something to provoke the attack.
Black bears are mostly herbavores and will usually only attack when defending their young.
Brown bears are carnivorious so proper precaution should be taken or don't go to places that have Brown bears

 

[buttrap]

Guess Murph has not seen many blacks eating deer guts..they do eat meat and will kill you faster than a grizz will though most run.

 

[H088]

I own guns except to deal animals of the two legged variety, not too worried about the four legged kind......

 

[mewachee]

We need to be able to carry everywhere, because the 2nd amendment recognizes my right to defense, irregardless of what I need to be in defense of. I should not have to explain why I exercise this right. If I shoot an elk, bear or human intruder, then I better be able to explain why I did, but bans like this, D.C. and elsewhere leave people defenseless. For this reason, I think lawmakers should be held accountable when they can't keep you safe, when they prevent your ability to defend yourself.

 

[TallPine]

I've never had to worry about an animal and I'm in the woods a lot.

Oh, really

About 20 years ago I managed a small business for the summer in a little town high in the Colorado mountains. We had a little store and a few rental cabins.

The nearest legal dump was 65 miles away, so we stored garbage in a 4x8 trailer until we could make a weekly trip. This is what I had to do with when I took over the job on short notice. A bear started getting into the trash, so I put a piece of plywood weighted with a railroad tie on top. That worked well - the bear just tore the whole front of the trailer off.

So I started keeping the garbage inside an old log garage. The bear then proceeded to tear the door off the garage. After I put the door back on the garage, I parked my old 65 Chevy pickup up against the door. That kept the bear out, but I found claw marks all over the hood, and on the shed where the bear had stood on his/her hind legs on top of the hood.

All this time, we were living in a camper trailer about 10 yards away

The big problem was that there were other people in the area that were illegally dumping and also deliberately feeding the bear. We got the DOW to come up and set a trap but never caught the bear. I also reported the illegal dumping and feeding but nothing to my knowledge ever came of that either


Update: details on recent incident near Jellystone Park:
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/07/19/news/state/23-nuts.txt

 

[Kind of Blued]

This is why I pitched my tent about a mile outside of Rocky Mountain National Park Tuesday and Wednesday night.

I asked the woman at the park entrance just to see what she would say:

"Oh, by the way, what can you tell me about firearms for self-defense within the park? I know concealed carry isn't allowed, but what about carrying openly?"

"Do you have a permit?"

"Yes, I have a concealed carry permit."

"No, do you have a permit to own the handgun with you?"

"Oh, no. There's no such thing as a permit to own a handgun in Colorado."

"Well not just anybody can buy a gun, I know that."

"Well, I did have to pass a background check with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to buy the gun."

"Well I'd have to see something."

"Unfortunately all they gave me was the gun."

"I'd probably just leave it in the car, locked up."

"OK. Can I carry a knife?"

"What kind of knife?"

"A little pocket knife... for the bears."

"Yeah, that's fine."

"Great."

"You enjoy yourselves."

"Have a good day 'mam"

 

[Kim]

They need to change the law because I am going to take a month off next year and travel west for the vacation of my lifetime. Probably alone some of the time. I will carry no matter what. I had rather it be legal. I had rather get to see the National Parks. We will see. There is no way in hades I would go without my firearm. No way. I am not so stupid. I even plan on buying a new vehicle for safety. I think a little firearm is necessary.

 

[3fgburner]

waken up by a bear bite... THAT must be an experience !

BTDT. It was. On the other hand, even if I'd had a gun I wouldn't have had a shot.

Philmont Scout Ranch, Clark's Fork Camp, mid-August 1974. Got woken up at 0-dark-30 by a toothed vise clamping down on my @$$. I woke up, yelled, and when I began to the bear decided I wasn't edible and left. It was beating feet so fast that I wouldn't have been able to get to a gun in time to bag it.

 

[FLoppyTOE]

What about the fact that state parks are often home to clandestine meth labs.

 

[TexasRifleman]

What about the fact that state parks are often home to clandestine meth labs.

If this article is correct, then you are very right.

According to this article:

"National Park Service officers are 12 times more likely to be killed or injured as a result of an assault than FBI agents," the group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility reported.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0808/p03s01-ussc.html

 

[22-rimfire]

I'd like to see folks with carry permits allowed to carry in National Parks and all National Forests.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

Guess Murph has not seen many blacks eating deer guts..they do eat meat and will kill you faster than a grizz will though most run.

No, Murph's statement was based on studies like Stephen Herrero's that document the fact that most such attacks are due to ignorant or stupid human dealings in the environment, though not all, but most.

I read the original, but a revised version can be found online here...
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en...a=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPP1,M1

Herrero's work indicates that black bears are LESS likely to kill people than grizzlies, although most black bear caused deaths were due to predation, versus simple encounters, curiousness, etc.

 

[nerfsrule2]

Growing up in Montana I carried a Model 29 in the Parks to stop bears.. When I moved back to Pa, I carried the same pistol for protection.. Guess I will stay out of Parks....

 

[MattTheHat]

Legal or not, if it's possible I'll encounter a bear or mountain lion, or even a big nasty rattle snake, I'm carrying (and carrying big). It may not be on my person, but I guarantee it's at the ready. I also exercise common sense and to *try* to avoid any direct interaction.

Besides, I've seen too many horror movies where zombies and other flavors of scary things come right out of the woods! I mean, do you really want to be without a few rounds of Winchester Silver hollow points when a Werewolf jumps out of the bushes? I think not.

-Matt