RJ
02-27-2007, 11:16 PM
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) today announced the results for the 2006 black bear hunting seasons.
Big Game hunters harvested 318 bears in the Adirondack bear range, 113 bears in the Allegany bear range, and 365 bears in the Catskill bear range.
*New York has excellent bear habitat and vast, accessible public lands that offer quality opportunities for bear hunting,* said Acting Executive Deputy Commissioner Carl Johnson. *Bear populations have been increasing in number and expanding in range throughout much of southern New York, a fact once again shown in this year*s bear harvest."
This was the 2nd consecutive year of below average harvest in the Adirondacks with only 318 bears taken. In recent years, the Early Season take has accounted for an increasing proportion of the overall Adirondack bear take. However, this past year, Early Season take was 70% below the 10 year average. An abundance of berries and other natural foods during late summer and early fall may have reduced bear movements making them less vulnerable to hunters in the big woods areas. In fact, most of the Early Season bear take was in towns on the edges of the Adirondacks where there is more agriculture. Bear take during the Regular Season occurred throughout the Adirondack bear range.
Hunters took 113 bears in the Allegany bear range, just slightly below the 2005 record take of 119 bears. Almost 50% of the bear harvest was accomplished by bowhunters who took 51 bears and matched the area*s record archery take set in 2005.
Hunters in the Catskills took 365 bears in 2006, including a record 177 bears taken during the archery season. Although the bowhunters set a record, overall Catskill bear take was down 25% from 2005. However, the 2006 harvest fits within a predictable pattern seen in the Catskill range and was still the 3rd highest take for the area.
Bear hunting in the Catskill range was expanded in 2006 to include Wildlife Management Units (WMUs) 4F, 4G, and 4H, located predominantly in Otsego, Schoharie and ****ny Counties. This expansion was based upon the recommendations from Stakeholder Input Groups that met in 2003 and
2004 to discuss black bear management in the Northern Catskills. These additional areas contributed 17 bears to the legal harvest in the Catskills.
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Bear harvest in the Catskill and Allegany ranges has followed a general increasing trend over the past two decades despite annual fluctuations. In fact, the 2006 bear harvests in these ranges are more than double the bear harvests from the mid 1990s and are four times greater than the bear takes of the mid 1980s. Recent management actions in the Allegany and Catskill ranges, including changing season dates and opening additional areas for bear hunting, have been intended to limit bear population growth and reduce negative bear-human interactions.
In addition to harvest totals, DEC uses a variety of indices to measure bear populations. Taxidermists and DEC wildlife personnel collect age and sex information from harvested bears and movement data from tagged bears. This information, along with bear and human conflict data collected throughout the year, is used to help determine whether bear populations are increasing or decreasing, and if bears are expanding their range. These data help DEC biologists manage bear populations and establish future hunting regulations to assure the management of black bears in New York State is at a level that is compatible with human interests.
*Bear harvest reporting is an essential part of bear hunting and an important tool used by DEC to determine harvest totals,* said Acting Deputy Executive Commissioner Carl Johnson. *In addition to harvest reporting, successful hunters were asked to submit a tooth sample from their bear for DEC to determine the age of all harvested
bears. To encourage participation, DEC began issuing a NYS Black Bear
Cooperator Patch in 2006 to all hunters who reported their harvest and submitted a tooth. We were pleased to distribute a total of 485 patches to successful hunters this past season and hope more hunters will participate next year.*
The attached tables provide details on New York*s 2006 bear harvest.
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07-17
Big Game hunters harvested 318 bears in the Adirondack bear range, 113 bears in the Allegany bear range, and 365 bears in the Catskill bear range.
*New York has excellent bear habitat and vast, accessible public lands that offer quality opportunities for bear hunting,* said Acting Executive Deputy Commissioner Carl Johnson. *Bear populations have been increasing in number and expanding in range throughout much of southern New York, a fact once again shown in this year*s bear harvest."
This was the 2nd consecutive year of below average harvest in the Adirondacks with only 318 bears taken. In recent years, the Early Season take has accounted for an increasing proportion of the overall Adirondack bear take. However, this past year, Early Season take was 70% below the 10 year average. An abundance of berries and other natural foods during late summer and early fall may have reduced bear movements making them less vulnerable to hunters in the big woods areas. In fact, most of the Early Season bear take was in towns on the edges of the Adirondacks where there is more agriculture. Bear take during the Regular Season occurred throughout the Adirondack bear range.
Hunters took 113 bears in the Allegany bear range, just slightly below the 2005 record take of 119 bears. Almost 50% of the bear harvest was accomplished by bowhunters who took 51 bears and matched the area*s record archery take set in 2005.
Hunters in the Catskills took 365 bears in 2006, including a record 177 bears taken during the archery season. Although the bowhunters set a record, overall Catskill bear take was down 25% from 2005. However, the 2006 harvest fits within a predictable pattern seen in the Catskill range and was still the 3rd highest take for the area.
Bear hunting in the Catskill range was expanded in 2006 to include Wildlife Management Units (WMUs) 4F, 4G, and 4H, located predominantly in Otsego, Schoharie and ****ny Counties. This expansion was based upon the recommendations from Stakeholder Input Groups that met in 2003 and
2004 to discuss black bear management in the Northern Catskills. These additional areas contributed 17 bears to the legal harvest in the Catskills.
(MORE)
-2-
Bear harvest in the Catskill and Allegany ranges has followed a general increasing trend over the past two decades despite annual fluctuations. In fact, the 2006 bear harvests in these ranges are more than double the bear harvests from the mid 1990s and are four times greater than the bear takes of the mid 1980s. Recent management actions in the Allegany and Catskill ranges, including changing season dates and opening additional areas for bear hunting, have been intended to limit bear population growth and reduce negative bear-human interactions.
In addition to harvest totals, DEC uses a variety of indices to measure bear populations. Taxidermists and DEC wildlife personnel collect age and sex information from harvested bears and movement data from tagged bears. This information, along with bear and human conflict data collected throughout the year, is used to help determine whether bear populations are increasing or decreasing, and if bears are expanding their range. These data help DEC biologists manage bear populations and establish future hunting regulations to assure the management of black bears in New York State is at a level that is compatible with human interests.
*Bear harvest reporting is an essential part of bear hunting and an important tool used by DEC to determine harvest totals,* said Acting Deputy Executive Commissioner Carl Johnson. *In addition to harvest reporting, successful hunters were asked to submit a tooth sample from their bear for DEC to determine the age of all harvested
bears. To encourage participation, DEC began issuing a NYS Black Bear
Cooperator Patch in 2006 to all hunters who reported their harvest and submitted a tooth. We were pleased to distribute a total of 485 patches to successful hunters this past season and hope more hunters will participate next year.*
The attached tables provide details on New York*s 2006 bear harvest.
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07-17