Bears

OGDEN — An addition to the MTC Park in Ogden is a cute attraction as well as a monument to the volunteers who serve there each week.

A carved female and a male bear, facing each other with a bench between them, are adorned with the words “Love Hill” encased in a heart and the instructions “propose here.” Both bears have the wide eyes of those contemplating marriage.

“I thought because they are posing for pictures all the time and weddings, something romantic would fit in,” said Dennis Miller, who carved the bears and made the bench between them, then built steps up the hill to the creation.

PROVO — While bringing a gun to a bear fight may seem like a solid way to win, experts say the gun largely provides a false sense of security — and would be similar to trying to shoot, and stop, a small car careening toward you at speeds of up to 35 mph.

In a new package of policies criticized even by some hunters, the Alaska Board of Game on Tuesday opened the door to aerial gunning of bears by state wildlife officials. It also debated a measure that would allow more widespread snaring of bears -- including grizzlies, which are officially considered threatened across most of the U.S.

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- New Jersey has agreed to permit more bear-hunt opponents at one of its key check-in sites for a planned protest Saturday and allow a member of the group to photograph a carcass as it's weighed.

The settlement came as the parties appeared Thursday before a state Supreme Court justice as part of an appeal by the Animal Protection League of New Jersey. Judge Barry Albin encouraged the two sides to hash out a deal instead of moving forward with the process, an attorney for the animal rights group said.

BOISE, Idaho -- When Connie Funkhouser saw the fresh bear track heading into the Caribou-Targhee National Forest on her recent run, she turned around.

Grizzly bear encounters are up dramatically this year in Island Park, along the Snake River near the boundary with Yellowstone National Park. Funkhouser, who lives in a subdivision on the Henrys Lake flats below Sawtelle Peak, takes no chances.

VERNAL -- Rangers are warning visitors to watch out for bears after getting reports of the animals stopping by campsites in northeastern Utah's Ashley National Forest.