Grizzlies continue to extend their range . . .
Red Lodge resident and hiker Grant Barnard is not worried that there have been more grizzly bear sightings southeast of town this spring than in decades. That’s because he used to live next door to Glacier National Park where he was “constantly surrounded” by the big bruins.
“I’m glad they’re coming back,” he said. “When we first moved here 20 years ago, I was told there were no grizzly bears. The only one I heard about was shot by a rancher.”
This year along the eastern face of the Beartooth Mountains there may be close to about 24 individual bears, most of them southeast of Red Lodge, said Shawn Stewart, a wildlife biologist with Fish, Wildlife and Parks in Red Lodge. “We have so much activity going on southeast of town that we almost add a new dot to the map every day,” he said.