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As far as the Fish and Wildlife Dept. being quick to initiate an investigation when a Grizzly is shot or killed, they can have at it. If I have a charging Grizzly coming at me, I'm not going to wait till it's in pepper spray range to see if it is going to stop or turn around. If I have a gun, I'm going to be tossing some lead at it. I'm a police officer and I'm all about following the law, but when it comes to a situation like this, I would rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6. You know the old saying, "better wrong and alive than right and dead."
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Trooper, I am in 100% agreement with you. That being said, people who are out in the woods, and may be exposed to Grizzlies need to seriously think about what may happen to them if they kill a protected bear. I made that decision a long time ago, and I am prepared to go to jail to protect my life. Most likely, if you kill a Grizzly without it having touched you in any way, you will serve time over it. Those are just the facts that we hunters and outdoorsmen have to deal with and prepare for. It is a good idea however, to carry the pepper spray and if you do have to shoot the bear, empty the pepper spray on it after you have shot it. There is really no way to tell which was fired first. This way, at least it LOOKS like you did not want to kill the bear right off.