Days after one of its members was charged by a grizzly bear, the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission agreed Thursday to discuss a resolution asking the federal government to provide funding needed to study whether the iconic animals should be removed from the list of endangered species.

FWP Commissioner Vic Workman was hunting north of Whitefish Lake on Sunday when he and a friend came across a grizzly bear burying a dead deer. When the bear charged the men, Workman yelled and shot at the animal, which veered off course and kept running.

It was the sixth encounter between a hunter and a grizzly since September.

"I may just as well not be here," Workman told his colleagues at Thursday's meeting. "I was very lucky not to get mauled or potentially killed last Sunday."

He asked the commission to "request, demand, beg" the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to expedite the process to delist grizzlies in the northwestern part of the state. The Yellowstone bear population has been removed from the endangered species list.

Workman said the bears have recovered, in his opinion, and need to be managed "so we can have a hunt of the bear and put some fear back into them." He said he's heard complaints from constituents in the Whitefish area.

Commissioners supported his proposal, with a few caveats. They agreed to explore a resolution asking the Fish and Wildlife Service to meet deadlines it has already set to work toward delisting -- some commissioners said they didn't want to expedite the process further and open the door to mistakes, which could be fodder to potential litigation.

Commissioners also said they didn't want to put undue pressure on wildlife biologists working to determine whether the animals have reached sustainable levels.

At FWP Director Jeff Hagener's suggestion, commissioners agreed to ask the state's congressional delegation to ensure federal funding continues to flow into the department, allowing staffers to perform the work needed to determine whether the bears have met recovery goals.

Commissioners directed staffers to draft a resolution, which they'll discuss early next year.

Reporter Larry Kline: 447-4075 or larry.kline@helenair.com