Worse yet, I don't know what to do if I come face to face with a PETA member in the woods

While he killed the bear to defend his dogs, he apparently butchered the bear and had the meat in his freezer. The warning was for illegal possession of the bear. If he had called us immediately upon shooting the bear then it wouldn't have been an issue. He still would not have been able to keep the bear as the statute does not provide for that. We would have turned the bear over to Wildlife for their use (i.e. have it mounted for educational displays, examine it for biological data, etc.).