Fish and Wildlife Commission sued over open-meeting law, black bear quotas
The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission was sued Friday for allegedly ignoring state open meeting laws when it approved eliminating some black bear hunting quotas in December.
The seven-member commission unanimously agreed at its Dec. 19 meeting to drop a rule that closed black bear hunting in certain hunting districts of northwest Montana if hunters killed more than 37% of the estimated female bear population there.
The lawsuit, filed by wildlife and conservation group members from across the state, claims the commissioners failed to publish the proposal before the meeting and then took action on it without proper notice or public comment.
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