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While riding along the trail skirting a ranch owned by William Jenninigs "Grizzly" Garth, Monte Hale hears cries from a calf in distress and goes to investigate.  Cowhands Slim Wallace and Clint Baker have lassoed the helpless animal and are dragging it toward a wagon carrying a vicious bear named Nero.  After Slim and Clint release the bear to maul the calf, Monte appears and fires at the cowhands.  Just then, Grizzly's young son Cub rides up behind Monte.  Pointing to the private property and no hunting sign posted nearby, Cub accuses Monte of trespassing and takes him to the ranch house at gunpoint.

There, Bob Nolan, one of Grizzly's ranch hands, identifies Monte as an authority on wild animal life who has come to advise the animal-loving Garths about their menagerie of wild beasts.  Bob and the boys inform Monte that Grizzly's niece, Bonnie Garth, opposes her uncle's decision to turn the ranch into a wild game preserve and believes that Grizzly's bears have been raiding her livestock.  Angered by the death of yet another cow, Bonnie comes to the ranch to confront Grizzly and Monte.  She is defended by Dan Long, a neighboring rancher, who has secretly hired Clint and Slim to stage the bear raids, hoping to incite the local ranchers against Grizzly and thus force him to sell his ranch.

After leaving Bonnie, Dan rides to Clint and Slim's hideout, where he viciously beats Nero.  When Sheriff Cutler warns Grizzly about the growing wrath of the ranchers, Grizzly considers selling the ranch, but Monte convinces him to instead turn it over to the government for a game and forest preserve.  Grizzly decides to make his announcement during a big party at his ranch, and on the day of the party, he rides to town to pick up some papers at the bank.

Along the trail, he spots Slim, Clint and Nero with another dead calf and orders them to get in their wagon and follow him to the ranch.  Just then, Dan appears and Grizzly tells him that he has the deed to his ranch in his coat pocket.  After knocking Grizzly unconscious, Dan instructs Clint and Slim to unleash the bear on him.  At the ranch, meanwhile, Blackie, Cub's pet bear, is frightened by the festivities and runs away.  Cub goes to look for Blackie, and finds him near Grizzly's mangled body.  When Bonnie announces that her uncle has been mauled to death by a bear, the ranchers organize a hunting party to destroy the animal.  Bonnie then asks Dan to find a buyer for Grizzly's ranch, and when Monte objects, she orders him off her property.

That night, Cub, fearing for Blackie's safety, runs away with the bear.  Meanwhile, Monte and Bob investigate the scene of Grizzly's murder.  Noticing a set of wagon tracks near where the body was found, they follow the trail to Clint and Slim's hideout.  As Monte and Bob battle with the outlaws, Bonnie and the ranchers spot the fleeing Cub and his pet bear.  Seeking refuge in a cave, Cub refuses to come out unless the ranchers promise that no harm will come to Blackie.  After assuring Cub that Blackie will be safe, Dan trains his rifle at the bear.  At that moment, Monte appears, shoots the weapon from Dan's hand and then produces the wagon carrying Slim, Clint and Nero.  Accused by his henchmen of murdering Grizzly, Dan jumps in the wagon to escape.  Nero, remembering the cruelty he suffered at Dan's hands, emerges from the back to mangle his tormentor and settle the score.  All ends happily as the Garth Memorial Park is publicly dedicated in Grizzly's honor.

Notes
The working title of this film, which was Republic's first color production, was West of God's Country. 

Songs include:  "Over the Rainbow Trail," music and lyrics by Ken Carson; "Take Your Time," music and lyrics by Glenn Spencer; and "Happy-Go-Lucky Cowboy" and "Down at the Old Hoe Down," music and lyrics by Gordon Forster.