YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — A 57-year-old hiker was killed Wednesday morning in Yellowstone National Park when he and his wife encountered a sow grizzly bear with cubs. Torrence, California native Brian Matayoshi and his wife Marylin were hiking along the Wapiti Lake Trail, which is a 32-mile round trip hike that starts at the Upper Falls trail head just south of Canyon Village and spans east to Wapiti Lake. According to NBCMontana.com, the couple were a mile and half away from the trailhead, hiking west towards their vehicle mid-morning when they arrived at an open meadow after traveling through a forested area. Matayoshi spotted the bear and her cubs 100 yards away and immediately started to back track away from the bear. When the couple turned around to look, they saw the horrifying site of the sow running down the trail after them. The couple immediately started running, but the bear caught Brian, savaging the hiker with multiple bite and claw wounds. The bear then turned her attention to Marylin who was now laying down near her fallen husband. The bear chomped down on her day pack, lifting her up, before slamming her back to the ground. As Marylin lay still, the grizzly sow eventually left, leaving Marylin frantically calling 911 and screaming out to other hikers. When park rangers arrived, Brian Matayoshi was pronounced dead at the scene. The attack occurred just south of Canyon Village along the Wapiti Lake Trail. “It is extremely unfortunate that this couple’s trip into the Yellowstone backcountry has ended in tragedy,” said Dan Wenk, Superintendent of Yellowstone National Park. “Our heart goes out to the family and friends of the victim as they work to cope with their loss.”

Wild horses — symbols of the American West that receive protections from the federal government — would have less standing than mollusks when it comes to Nevada water law under a measure that seeks to deny mustangs and burros status as wild animals. CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Wild horses — symbols of the American West that receive protections from the federal government — would have less standing than mollusks when it comes to Nevada water law under a measure that seeks to deny mustangs and burros status as wild animals. The six lines contained in the measure define the term "wildlife'' as "any wild mammal, wild bird, fish, reptile amphibian, mollusk or crustacean found naturally in a wild state, whether indigenous to Nevada or not and whether raised in captivity of not. The term does not include any wild horse or burro.'' Under state law, holders of water rights must show "beneficial use" of the valuable resource before a permit is granted by the state engineer. Benefiting wildlife is one such allowable use. Wild horse advocates say if the bill passes it will deprive the animals access to water across the harsh desert landscape. Backers of the bill deny that claim. They argue that the bill's intent is to keep the federal government from obtaining new water rights specifically for horses in the future, and force the federal government's hand to deal with too many horses on the range. AB329 received bipartisan support in the Assembly, passing 35-7. It's up for hearing Friday before the Senate Natural Resources Committee. "Contrary to the claims of AB329 supporters, this proposed law could have a catastrophic impact on wild horses and burros who depend on these natural waters for survival," said Bruce Wagman, a lawyer representing the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign and American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in opposing the bill. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is charged with overseeing the estimated 33,000 wild horses that roam freely in 10 Western states. About half of those are in Nevada. Kelvin Hickenbottom, deputy state water engineer, said the BLM currently holds 28 water right permits for wildlife in which horses and burros are identified as users of the water. The bill, he said, "would not allow us to issue a water right for wild horses." The state agency is neutral on the bill. Alan Shepherd, BLM wild horse program manager in Nevada, said the agency's existing water rights are at or near designated herd management areas, where wild horses and burros were included under the wildlife definition. If the bill becomes law, it will "put a different spin on how permits are evaluated in the future," he said. One sponsor of the measure, Assemblyman Pete Goicoechea, R-Eureka, said he introduced the bill at the request of ranchers and hunters. Goicoechea said the bill would not deny animals access to water, and any water rights currently held by the federal government for horses would be grandfathered. And while the state is responsible for its own wildlife, it lacks jurisdiction over horses and burros that are federally protected under the 1971 Free-Roaming Wild Horse and Burro Act. Based on that argument, the BLM should take care of them, he said. Democratic Assemblyman David Bobzien of Reno, another sponsor, said the goal is to not perpetuate the horse problem by making water available. "We have a situation out of whack," he said. "I don't want to see an exacerbation of the situation." Granting water rights, he said, "releases the pressure value on the federal government to manage wild horses." "There is a broad coalition asking for management of wild horses," Bobzien said. Kyle Davis, with the Nevada Conservation League, agreed. "Wild horses are currently causing significant environmental damage on the range," he said.

Bears beware — Colorado lawmakers worried about the animals' growing population are talking about giving wildlife officials more say over when bears can be hunted. DENVER (AP) — Bears beware — Colorado lawmakers worried about the animals' growing population are talking about giving wildlife officials more say over when bears can be hunted. A proposal set for its first hearing Monday would repeal a 1992 voter-approved initiative that prohibits hunting bears from March 1 to Sept. 1 and give the state Division of Wildlife authority to expand hunting dates. Voters overwhelmingly approved the initiative amid concern that female bears were being hunted in the spring, when they are taking care of their cubs. The initiative also banned hunting bears with dogs and baiting bears with food to kill them. The bill sponsored by Rep. J. Paul Brown would not eliminate those provisions. Brown, a lawmaker from southwestern Colorado, said he's concerned that the animals are becoming less afraid of people. "If at all possible, I just don't want to have a tragedy with some little kid getting killed by a bear if there's a bad bear around," he said. But a wildlife rights group argues the bear population is still vulnerable and its numbers could dwindle fast if more hunting is allowed. "Sure, if you wipe out the whole population there's going to be no conflicts" with people, said Wendy Keefover, director of carnivore protection for WildEarth Guardians. Brown insists he's not advocating a spring bear hunt and that it's unlikely that hunters will be allowed to take the animals during spring. He's also not offering an opinion as to when more hunting should happen. "The Division of Wildlife, I think, are the experts and they're the ones that need to make those decisions," he said. "It's just that right now, as it is in statute, they just don't have that flexibility." Randy Hampton, a DOW spokesman, said the agency is not taking a position on the bill. But he said having additional season-setting flexibility would permit the department to allow bear hunting during the late summer "in areas where bear densities are determined to be too high." "Just because we are given authority to hunt year-round doesn't mean the spring hunt would come back. We're not discussing the spring hunt as an option," Hampton said. Hampton said that wildlife officials estimated the bear population at close to 8,000 in the early 1990s. Additional research is under way and wildlife officials "have conservatively estimated the black bear population in Colorado at approximately 12,000 bears," Hampton said. Bear encounters with people have increased as more Coloradans move into rugged areas and people explore more of the state's backcountry, Hampton said. Urban development, persistent droughts and late frosts also have brought bears and humans closer as the animals search for food. In 2009, wildlife officers and landowners killed 211 bears because of their interaction with people or property, and another 219 in 2010. In 2008, 107 problem bears were killed, according to DOW. Last week, a man in suburban Colorado Springs told police he had to take refuge on top of his truck after he was chased by a mother bear and her two cubs. Last summer, wildlife agents killed a bear that bit a man in Durango who was sleeping in his backyard. The man wasn't seriously hurt. Keefover, with WildEarth Guardians, said bear-versus-human conflicts are a matter of people taking personal responsibility and being smart about not attracting bears by leaving food or trash where it's easily accessible. She said that despite Brown's reassurance that a spring bear hunt won't happen, she's still worried that bears will be targeted when cubs are most dependent on their mothers. "The idea that we need to hunt when cubs are vulnerable is just completely unethical and wrong," she said.