Hunting & Trapping Digest 2008-2009 - (Page A4) Black Bears By Mark Ternent, Wildlife Biologist N 2005, conditions were perfect for a large bear harvest. The statewide bear population was close to 15,000, acorns were plentiful, which kept bears active and predictable, weather was ideal for hunting on opening day, 142,000 hunters purchased bear licenses, and more than 10,000 square-miles of northeast Pennsylvania were open to extended hunting during the first week of deer season. So, it was no surprise when hunters took a record 4,164 bears. The record harvest, however, had minimal impact on the bear population, and hunters killed 3,122 bears in 2006. Although harvests were high in 2005 and 2006, harvest rates — the percentage of the population removed by hunting — were well within acceptable population management limits. Most years, about 20 percent of the bears eartagged for population monitoring are harvested during the regular 3-day season; 21 percent of bears ear tagged in 2005 were harvested that year, and in 2006, 17 percent, indicating that the large harvests observed those years occurred because bear populations were high, not because hunters killed a greater proportion of the population than usual. In fact, the statewide bear population was estimated to be near 14,000 in 2007. Why was the 2007 bear harvest so low? Actually, the 2,360 bears taken in 2007 is the ninth largest overall bear harvest and similar to harvests observed in the mid-1990s. But, the harvest rate was only 15 percent, the second-lowest harvest rate recorded in 20 years — the lowest (14 percent) occurred in 1999. A low harvest rate occurs when hunter participation or success decreases. The heavy, wet snow that blanketed much of the state opening morning I in 2007 likely hampered hunter success. Numerous hunters visiting check stations commented that bushes and trees laden with snow reduced visibility, made walking difficult, and produced fog in some areas. A patchy acorn crop may have also contributed by dispersing bears. During the 2007 archery bear season, 41 bears were harvested. The archery bear season began in 2006 and is designed conservatively, because the agency lacks information on how many hunters participate and their likelihood of success. Biologists intend to maintain a conservative season for several years, until sufficient data on participation and success has been collected, and then consider adjustments. Based on results of the Game-Take Survey, which surveys two percent of general license buyers each year about their hunting activities, approximately 7,500 people participated in the 2006 archery season, harvesting 79 bears, for a success rate near one percent. Results from the 2007 survey will be available in late 2008. During the 2007 extended season, 293 bears were harvested. In the five WMUs open partially or entirely during this season, harvest was typical, except in WMU 3D. There, harvest was again below average, and annual population estimates suggest bear numbers are approximately half what they were before extended hunting began in 2002. As a result, extended hunting was closed in WMU 3D for 2008. Conversely, for 2008 extended hunting has been opened Wednesday through Saturday in three new areas — WMUs 4C, 4D and 4E — because bear populations in those units have reached levels that warrant reduction due to the increasing number of bears dispersing into developed areas.
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