Wednesday, April 9, 2014

According to the Department of Environmental Conservation, New York's black bear population is currently estimated at a minimum of 6,000-8,000 bears in areas open to hunting, with roughly 50-60% of the bears inhabiting the Adirondack region, about 30-35% in the Catskills and about 10-15% in the central-western area of the state....................The 2013 Bear Hunt resulted in 1358 killed by hunters,,,,,,,,some 20% of the population................Why is it necessary to up the quota for next year?.............Taking out 1/5 of the population is a debilitating occurrence,,,,,,,,,,with no sound ecological reason to back up this "nimrod-like" recommendation by State Officials.......... The Adirondack kill fell from 606 in 2012 to 380 this past year............. Is the explanation Officials provide about a large Mast year making it harder for hunters to find Bears the reason for the smaller kill,,,,,,,,,,,or is it that there are less Bears alive at this point up North in the Easts largest wilderness region?........Could it be that the previous years 606 kill knocked down this population to dwindling numbers?................NY is not appreciably different from Idaho or Minnesota or British Columbia,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Every one of these States and Provincial Governments management of carnivores is based on flawed science and greed-oriented economic reasoning rather than ecological services species and habitat diversity----WE MUST CHANGE THIS PARADIGM if our last remaining wildlands are to be kept wild and not made into "zoo-like" enclosures for hunters "peanut-gallery" shooting desires


http://poststar.com/blogs/adirondack_outdoors/bear-take-down-locally/article_5f14b920-bf4f-11e3-90b0-001a4bcf887a.html#.U0TdGswKSgk.email

Last year's bear hunting take in New York second highest on record


bear222_2.JPG
2013 Black Bear Harvest Comparison
2013 Total
2012 Total
Recent 5-year Average (2008-2012)
Historical Average (1991-2000)
Statewide
1,3581,3371,288722
Adirondack
380606560515
Central-Western
34228923138
Southeastern
636442497169
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2 comments:

  1. Dave MessineoApril 10, 2014 at 6:26 PM

    The New York Dept of Environmental Conservation has a general attitude of avoiding hassle i.e. complaints, phone calls, calls for game wardens and wildlife employees to respond.
    This attitude, while not absolutely subscribed to by every single employee, is pervasive and colors all DEC policies.
    Bears are regarded as a headache. Bears raid bee hives, damage bird feeders, tear through garbage cans, kill calves, etc. All these bear activities mean phone calls and complaints. More bears mean more complaints especially in areas where bears have been absent for decades.
    The job of public education on how to live with bears is work. It is easier to increase the bear kill to stop or slow their return to suitable habitat.
    As soon as a few bears show up in an area, NY DEC opens hunting. That serves to slow the expansion.
    The black bear population in New York is growing in recent years largely due to bears from New Jersey and Pennsylvania. NY bear hunting policy pretty much prevented NY bears from increasing enough to expand their range.
    Despite NY DEC heavy bear hunting quotas, bears are increasing and expanding their range and hopefully will continue to return to their historic habitat.

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  2. Coyotes, Wolves and Cougars foreverApril 10, 2014 at 10:31 PM

    Dave,,,,,,,,,,,truly a sad commentary........ironic that NY and Penn were the source for the initial NJ black bear expansion.........and now it is Jersey, despite the recent annual hunts, that are feeding bears back into NYS

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