With the Oct. 12 opening of pheasant season, bird hunters around Montana will be beating the brush hoping to flush a rooster or two. These hunters, particularly in the western half of the state, should be prepared for an encounter with a grizzly bear.

In recent years, grizzly bear populations have expanded into areas where they haven’t been for decades, including on the prairies away from the Rocky Mountain Front, in the valleys of western Montana and in valleys and mountains of southwest, southcentral and central Montana. Even in areas where they have been more common – those places cl...