Bear hunting unit 1

There certainly are grizzly bears in Unit 1, particulary in the Trapper Ck burn north of Priest Lake.  As you noted, there are also good densities of black bears.  The fire resulted in a great big huckleberry shrubfield, thus explaining the high density of both types of bears. The area probably has the highest density of grizzly bears in northern Idaho, but that has to be put in perspective.  There are perhaps 35-40 grizzly bears in that portion of the Selkirks (an educated guess, not a scientific fact), but that includes an area of perhaps 250-300 sq miles, or a density of about 1 grizzly bear every 6-8 sq miles.  The density of black bears may be more on the order of 1 black bear per sq mile. There are a several things that you might consider as far as hunting black bears in there.  The first would be to go to the IDFG website and find the bear identification test.  That would be a good start on assuring that you correctly identify the species of bear you are looking at.  You certainly don't want to make that mistake! The second would be to carry bear pepper spray.  I'd recommend both of you carry it and be sure to carry it where you can quickly get to it - it doesn't do much good if you need it in a hurry and it's stuck in your daypack.  You can find lots of videos about the use of pepper spray.  Search for the IGBC website (Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee) for a good start. Lastly, make sure to keep a clean camp.  This goes for black bear and grizzly bear country both.  There is no history of habituated grizzly bears in that area and we certainly don't want to start any. The area is beautiful and there is an opportunity to take a nice black bear and have a great hunting experience.  The likelihood of encountering a grizzly bear is rare, but you are doing the right thing in thinking about that aspect of the hunt.  Ultimately you have to make the decision.  I hope I've given you some things to think about.