Wisconsin’s 2008 Black Bear Season Harvest
November 21, 2008
Permits to increase by 50 percent for 2009 season
MADISON — Preliminary figures indicate hunters harvested more than 2,900 black bears in Wisconsin during the 2008 bear hunting season. This figure is expected to increase slightly in the next month as remaining registration data is entered and is very close to the 2,950 harvest goal for the 2008 season.
Price, Sawyer, and Marinette counties led the state with 259, 220, and 209 bears registered respectively. The preliminary harvest by Bear Management Zone is Zone A: 1,029, Zone B: 657, Zone C: 621, and Zone D: 582.
Hunters submitted 34,529 applications for 4,660 Class A Bear Harvest permits. A total of 81,453 hunters applied for either a harvest permit or a preference point, 1.5 percent more than in 2007. Hunters who apply for but do not receive a Class A harvest permit will receive a preference point for the next year’s drawing. Depending on the zone applied for, it currently takes five to ten preference points in order to draw a harvest permit.
Population study results in; biologists recommend 50 percent more harvest permits
The results of a two-year cooperative study of Wisconsin black bears indicate the population is likely more than two times larger than previously thought. The DNR-funded mark-recapture study was conducted by the University of Wisconsin – Madison Wildlife Ecology graduate student, Dave MacFarland, under the guidance of Dr. Timothy Van Deelen. Members of the Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association provided valuable assistance by gathering data and providing research supplies and funding.
“This is a great example of the benefits of working with our partners to complete a large and important project,” said Keith Warnke, Department of Natural Resources deer and bear ecologist.
The DNR’s Bear Committee, comprised DNR wildlife biologists and representatives from various groups such as USDA-APHIS, the Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association and the Wisconsin Conservation Congress, met this week to establish recommended harvest permit levels for the 2009 bear season.
“With this new information we can confidently make more bear permits available next year-that’s good news for bear hunters.” The following harvest permit levels are proposed, taking the results of the bear population study into consideration: Zone A: 2,585, Zone B: 1,100, Zone C: 2,040, and Zone D:1,230. The total of 6,950 permits is an increase of 50 percent over the number of permits available for the 2008 season. The bear harvest permit recommendations will be reviewed by the Conservation Congress Bear Study Committee and final quota and permit levels will be approved by the Natural Resources Board at the January 27-28, 2009 Natural Resources Board meeting.
“Over the next couple years, we will be working with our partners to re-write the bear management plan to incorporate this new information and structure our goals to address future bear management,” Warnke said.
2009 Season Applications
The deadline for 2009 Black Bear hunting season applications is Dec. 10, 2008. Hunters can apply over the Internet through the Online Licensing Center; by calling toll-free 1-877-WI LICENSE (1-877-945-4236); at license sales locations; or DNR service centers during their regular business hours (check service center link for hours of operation, which vary by service center; service centers are closed Saturdays).
The 2009 bear hunting season will run Sept. 9 through Oct. 13. The opening week of Wisconsin’s bear hunting season alternates between those hunting bear over bait and those hunting with trailing hounds. Hunters using trailing hounds will go first in 2009 in management zones A, B, and D, where the use of dogs is permitted. Hunting over bait will have the first week of the season again in 2010.
Information on bear hunting, hunting seasons, and links to online application information can be accessed at bear hunting page of the DNR Web site or at any DNR Service Center or license vendor.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: contact Keith Warnke - (608) 264-6023 or Linda Olver (608) 261-7588
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A Season of Promise For Pennsylvania Black Bear Hunters
November 13, 2008
HARRISBURG – Last year’s black bear harvest was light, but weather permitting, the Pennsylvania Game Commission expects hunters to have good opportunities afield in the upcoming bear seasons.
“Pennsylvania’s black bear population has numbered 14,000 to 15,000 for at least eight years now,” said Carl G. Roe, Game Commission executive director. “Because our bear population now covers almost three-quarters of the state – and includes a number of world-class trophy bears – Pennsylvania has become one of the top states for bear hunters. Every bear hunter heads afield in Pennsylvania knowing he or she has a chance to see a bear and to possibly take a huge one that weighs 700 to 800 pounds.”
Weather impacted the opening day of last year’s traditional three-day November bear season, but hunters still took 2,360 bears by the time the state’s slate of bear seasons closed. The opening day is almost always the best day of any season, because hunter participation is generally the highest.
The 2007 bear harvest compares with 3,122 in 2006, and 4,164 in 2005, the state’s best bear kill. Already in this decade, which still is not completed, hunters have taken more black bears than in any other decade since the Game Commission began keeping bear harvest records in 1915. Â
“Our black bear population is a remarkable resource,” said Mark Ternent, Game Commission black bear biologist. “Every year since 2000, more than 100,000 hunters have headed afield in pursuit of bears, with harvests exceeding 3,000 bears most years, yet many local bear populations across the state have remained stable or increased. It’s a good time to be a bear hunter.”
Pennsylvania’s primary bear season is three days, statewide, just prior to Thanksgiving, Nov. 24-26.  There also is a two-day archery bear season – Nov. 19 and 20 – in Wildlife Management Units 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F, 2G, 3A, 4A, 4B and 4D. Additionally, concurrent with the first week of the firearms deer season, there is an extended season that is open Dec. 1-6, in WMU 3C and portions of 3B, 2G and 4E; and Dec. 3-6, in all of WMUs 4C, 4D and 4E.
“We expect bear population levels to be comparable to last year or possibly higher in areas where the harvest was down last year,” Ternent said. “The exception may be in parts of the state’s northeast, where we have been trying to reduce local bear populations through the use of an extended season.
“Hunters should take around 3,500 bears if good weather prevails, maybe more if there is snow-cover, in the upcoming bear seasons. If we follow the state average, about 30 hunters will take a bear that weighs 500 pounds or more.”
Since 1992, six bears with an estimated live weight of 800 pounds or more have been taken in Pennsylvania. The possibility of another 800-pounder being taken by a hunter is always in play when Pennsylvania’s bear season opens.
The heaviest bears taken in Pennsylvania typically come from the state’s Northeast. However, the Southwest Region also is producing record-book black bears based on skull dimensions, which is the method used for official big game scoring and record keeping. In 2005, Andrew Seaman Jr. of Dunbar took a 733-pound black bear that had a skull measurement of 23and 3/16th inches that the Boone and Crockett Club now recognizes as tied for the world-record black bear killed legally by a hunter. The Fayette County bear is tied with a bear taken in California.
During the first week of October, a large Cambria County black bear was killed by a vehicle while crossing the road. It had an unofficial skull measurement of 23 and 8/16th inches. Skulls officially cannot be measured for the record book until after a 60-day drying period.
“License sales indicate that the number of bear hunters may be up this year,” Ternent said. “Couple that with what appears to be at least a stable, and possibly larger, bear population and it could translate into good bear hunting.”
Hunters this fall also have expanded opportunities with new or enlarged extended season areas in WMUs 4C, 4D, 4E, and the around Lock Haven in WMU 2G.
These changes will open extended bear hunting in about 9,300 square-miles, compared to 5,100 square-miles in 2007 (even with the removal of WMU 3D for extended bear hunting in 2008).
So, there are plenty of bears, plenty of hunters, tremendous opportunities. It sounds like everything is about right. But there are other variables to consider in all types of hunting. Two of the most important for big game are the availability of fall foods and, of course, the weather.
“Our fall food survey suggests that almost all soft mast species produced well,” Ternent said. “Hard mast is a different story. Some areas reported average acorn crops. But there also were large areas that are reporting acorn crop failure where there was significant gypsy moth defoliation this past spring. The northcentral, northwest and southcentral counties appear to have been impacted the most. There are few areas anywhere with above-average acorn crops.
“Scouting, as it is in most seasons, will be important for bear hunters,” Ternent said. “Bears are capable of locating small patches where food is available. In years when acorns are sparse, scouting for those areas is necessary if you want to hunt where there are bears. Talk to farmers and foresters, check out the field officer game forecasts on the Game Commission’s website, and try to spend some time in the woods before bear season arrives.”
Last year, bears were taken in 49 of the state’s 67counties. The state’s top three counties were: Clinton, 171; Lycoming, 139; and Tioga, 121. A majority of the bears – 2,026 – were taken in the three-day firearms season before Thanksgiving. In addition, 41 bears were taken in the archery season, and 293 were taken in the extended seasons.
The bear harvest, by WMU, for all three seasons combined (archery, 3-day, and extended), including 2006’s harvest results in parentheses, were: WMU 1A, 7 (12); WMU 1B, 29 (37); WMU 2A, 1, (0), WMU 2C, 238 (267); WMU 2D, 94 (101); WMU 2E, 50 (101); WMU 2F, 224 (206); WMU 2G, 545 (724); WMU 3A, 186 (242); WMU 3B, 214 (372); WMU 3C, 145 (245); WMU 3D, 193 (224); WMU 4A, 100 (116); WMU 4B, 42 (32); WMU 4C, 54 (70); WMU 4D, 184 (299); and WMU 4E, 54 (74).
Bear licenses must be purchased prior to Dec. 1. Hunters who already have their general hunting license (which is silver) may add bear license privileges at any issuing agent or via “The Outdoor Shop” on the agency’s website (www.pgc.state.pa.us
). If purchasing a bear license online, hunters will be given a “web order number” at the end of the transaction, which they will be instructed to write in the appropriate area on their general license and sign the appropriate box; they will not need to wait for anything to be mailed.
Hunters who purchased their general hunting license (which is yellow) through the agency’s pilot “Pennsylvania Automated License System” would need to purchase their bear license through the PALS website (www.wildlifelicense.com/pa), and wait for a new bear license to be mailed to them, which could take seven to 10 days for delivery, or they can visit one of the 15 sites selling licenses via PALS.
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Apply for a 2009 Sportsman permit in Utah Now
November 7, 2008
Applications for Utah’s most prized hunting permits accepted soon
Applications for next year’s most prized Utah hunting permits, the 2009 sportsman permits, will be available by Nov. 3.
Only Utah residents may apply for sportsman permits. One sportsman permit is offered for each of the following species: Desert bighorn ram, Rocky Mountain bighorn ram, buck deer, buck pronghorn, bull elk, bull moose, hunter’s choice bison, hunter’s choice Rocky Mountain goat, black bear, cougar, sandhill crane and wild turkey.
If you draw a sportsman permit, the dates you can hunt vary, but in most cases they’re longer than the regular season dates. You can also hunt on almost any unit in Utah that’s open to hunting the species you drew a permit for.
Highly prized
“Sportsman permits are highly prized,” says Judi Tutorow, wildlife licensing coordinator for the Division of Wildlife Resources. “If you’re one of the lucky hunters who draw one, you’ll have plenty of days and plenty of areas to hunt.”
You can apply for a sportsman permit starting Nov. 3 at www.wildlife.utah.gov. Applications must be submitted no later than 11 p.m. on Nov. 17 to be entered in the draw for permits.
If you need help completing your application, please call (801) 538-4700 no later than 6 p.m. on Nov. 17.
Draw results will be posted by Dec. 8. If you draw a permit, you’ll also receive a letter in the mail. “Not many hunters draw these permits,” Tutorow says. “If you receive a letter in the mail, I wouldn’t be surprised if you framed it!”
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Black Bears, Other Wildlife Begin Preparing for Winter Hibernation
November 6, 2008
SPOONER, Wis. – As temperatures drop and snow flurries begin to fly in November, some Wisconsin wildlife animals begin looking for spots where they can avoid the cold by either hibernating or enter a long winter’s sleep.
State wildlife officials say that there are generally two kinds of winter sleepers: true hibernators and “light sleepers.”
“Both styles help animals and some reptiles endure the winter,” says Gary Dunsmoor, a Department of Natural Resources wildlife technician in Spooner. “And both most likely have a lot to do with food availability — just as many species of wildlife migrate for the winter months due to lack of food here, many animals likely hibernate for the same reason.”
Dunsmoor says true hibernators like bats, woodchucks, and ground squirrels “sleep so deeply, it is almost impossible to wake them.”
A woodchuck’s heart rate, he notes, goes from 80 beats a minute when active to four to five beats a minute in hibernation. Other true hibernators include snakes, turtles, and frogs. Frogs and turtles bury themselves in the mud below the frost line getting oxygen from air trapped in the mud. Some snakes head underground while others gather together in sheltered places like rotted logs.
Dunsmoor says bears, skunks, raccoons, opossum and badgers are “light sleepers.”
“These characters can be awakened from their winter nap. They breathe a little more slowly and lower their body temperature a few degrees during sleep but will awaken to feed.”
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Black bears in Wisconsin usually begin looking for places to make their dens by mid-October, Dunsmoor says, but warm weather or a healthy acorn crop will keep them active into November. Bears generally make dens in shallow holes near overturned stumps or blown-over trees, in shallow caves, in hollowed-out trees or in rock crevices. However, Dunsmoor says, some bears take only a low spot on the ground with plenty of leaves to sleep on.
While scientists are not sure how or why animals go into hibernation, Dunsmoor says they have found a special substance in the blood of hibernators.
“It is called Hibernation Inducement Trigger. If blood is taken from a hibernating squirrel in the winter and injected into an active squirrel in the spring, the active squirrel goes into hibernation,” he says..
What biologists also know is that hibernators put on a special kind of fat known as brown fat. This special fat is found across the back and shoulders of hibernating animals, close to their organs like the brain and liver. Brown fat delivers quick energy to an animal coming out of hibernation.
Dunsmoor says wildlife watchers can see hibernators out foraging for foods now in attempt to put on as much fat as possible because they will not eat much when the snow flies.
Come the snow when outdoor adventurists are cross country skiing, snowmobiling and snowshoeing they will probably be passing by hibernators without knowing it.
“Snows provide insulating warmth and cover. They won’t hear them either, most hibernators, don’t snore,” Dunsmoor notes.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Gary Dunsmoor – (715) 635-4092
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Black Bear Education Seminars Offered in New Jersey
September 9, 2008
With the onset of fall, black bears begin actively foraging for food to prepare for the winter denning season. The increase in activity during this time of year can bring bears closer to homes and into backyards as they search for any available food.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Fish and Wildlife offers “Know the Bear Facts” education seminars for residents to learn common-sense methods to discourage bears from entering a property, and how to react if one encounters a black bear.
“Know the Bear Facts” education seminars are free of charge and available to municipalities, schools, homeowner associations, civic and environmental organizations, and a variety of other audiences.
Program attendees learn about the history and biology of the Garden State’s largest land mammal, as well as about black bear research. The program also provides tips on how to react if a black bear is encountered near a home or when enjoying the outdoors.
Precautions that residents should take to prevent bears from becoming a nuisance near homes are also discussed.
Black bears have been sighted in all 21 of New Jersey’s counties. Therefore, it is important for residents throughout the state to know the facts about co-existing with bears.
To inquire about scheduling a bear education seminar for your group, please contact Michelle Ruggiero at 908-637-4125 or by e-mail at Michelle [dot] Ruggiero [at] dep [dot] state [dot] nj [dot] us.
For more information about black bears, visit the Bear Facts page.
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Catch Fish, Shoot Targets at the Utah State Fair Sept. 4-14
September 2, 2008
Your kids can catch fish and shoot pellet guns at this year’s Utah State Fair.
The two activities are just some of the things your family can enjoy at the historic Division of Wildlife Resources building. Located on the south side of the Utah State Fairpark, the building is close to 100 years old.
The following are among the things you and your family can do at the building and the surrounding area:
Your kids can catch and release bluegill, crappie, catfish and bass at the fish pond. The pond is on the south side of the building. It will be open from 4–7 p.m. every day of the fair except Sep. 4. The DWR will provide all of the fishing equipment and instruction your kids will need to catch fish.
Your kids can shoot at targets at the DWR’s shooting trailer. The trailer will be open every day of the fair.
You can learn about various outdoor topics at a series of seminars. Black bear and OHV safety, the rocks that make up the Wasatch Mountains and wildlife art are among the topics that will be presented. The seminars will be held on the west side of the fish pond. Most of the seminars will be held in the evening.
You can learn more about Utah’s outdoors at various information booths inside the building. The divisions of Oil, Gas & Mining, State Parks and Recreation, Water Resources and Wildlife Resources, as well as the Utah Geological Survey and the Department of Natural Resources, will be represented.
“Because so many DNR divisions will be involved this year, those who attend the fair can learn more about conservation efforts and Utah’s outdoors than ever before,” says DNR Executive Director Mike Styler.
The Utah State Fair runs Sep. 4–14 at the Utah State Fairpark. The fairpark is at 155 N. 1000 W. in Salt Lake City.
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Phone Applications For Black Bear Hunting Permit Begin Aug. 25 For Maryland
August 25, 2008
ANNAPOLIS - On August 25, 2008, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources will begin accepting phone-in applications from hunters wishing to participate in this year’s black bear hunting permit lottery. Applications will be accepted over the phone at 1-888-579-6768 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. from August 25 through August 29, 2008.
Harry Spiker, DNR Game Mammal Section Leader reminds that “hunters must apply each year to retain their preference points in the lottery. Preference points increase your odds of being selected in future lotteries. Beginning this year, hunters may opt to purchase a preference point only. This will allow those who cannot hunt in 2008, the opportunity to retain their preference points for use in future lotteries.”
Hunters may continue to apply online 24 hours a day through 6:00 p.m. on September 1, 2008 at http://blackbear.dnr.state.md.us
A $15 application fee must be submitted via credit card, check, or money order by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 3, 2008 and should be made payable to MDDNR Black Bear and mailed to MDDNR Black Bear, P.O. Box 30, Cumberland, MD 21501. Only one application per person will be accepted. Duplicate applications will result in disqualification and the loss of all fees.
In order to allow all interested parties an equal opportunity to participate, permits will be awarded by a random selection process which will be held on Thursday, September 4. A list of winning applicants will be available online at http://blackbear.dnr.state.md.us starting 5 p.m. on Friday, September 5, 2008. Maryland’s black bear hunting season begins October 20, 2008 in Garrett and Allegany Counties.
For more info, please visit: http://www.dnr.state.md.us/wildlife/bbregs.asp.
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Cheyenne Archer Bags Near Record Black Bear
August 5, 2008
CHEYENNE– Cheyenne archer Steve Perkins knew he was on to a big bear, but it took a year to find out exactly the size of the bear that eventually ended up scoring no. 2 in the record book for archery kills in Wyoming.
Perkins’ bear scored 20 6/16 inches on the Pope and Young scoring scale, putting it just behind a bear taken in Carbon County in 1985 that scored 20 12/16. Pope and Young is an organization that maintains records for archery trophies taken in North America. Scoring on bears is determined by measuring the length and width of the skull in 1/16 increments and adding the two measurements together. The world record archery black bear scored 23 3/16 and was taken in California in 1993.
Perkins bagged the bear on May 19 in the Laramie Peak area in hunt area 7 located west of Wheatland. During the 2007 season he had noticed bite marks on his bait station and knew the marks came from a larger bear than any of the five he had previously taken. As luck would have it, the season closed a few days later, before he was able to see the bear, much less get a shot. He was back in the area this year and once again the large boar responded to his baits. “I had up to six bears on my bait station this year,” Perkins said. “There was a sow with two cubs that kept fighting with the boar. It appeared the boar was trying to get to the cubs, and the female would drive him away.”
The large boar eventually presented him with a shot at 23 yards. Perkins said the bear weighed between 450-500 pounds. He said the bear was the black color phase, which pleased him as his other bears had been the chocolate brown and blond color phase of black bear.
Perkins, who owns Sunlight Taxidermy in Cheyenne, has already mounted the bear and it is on display in his shop.
Black bears in Wyoming are managed on a female mortality quota basis for both spring and fall hunting seasons. When the female quota in a given hunt area is reached, the season in that area is closed to hunting.
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