Approval of the hunting season for 2021 has been a long process, and it is still pending one more public comment period. Earlier this month the state Conservation Commission approved the framework of a season, and that information will be posted in the public record for comments to be collected from Oct. 16 through Nov. 14.
Before making comments, people should learn all they can about the proposed hunting season and the population of bears in the state. Missouri has been tracking black bears for 30 years and conducting an extensive research project since 2010. A mountain of details and data can be found at mdc.mo.gov/bears. The site even has a link to previous comments collected throughout the process, both for and against a proposed hunting season.
The overwhelming majority of the comments from open house events favored the establishment of a hunting season. Even 71 percent of online submissions also favored a hunting season. The opposing comments mostly took the theme that all hunting should be prohibited.
Jefferson County is included in the proposed Bear Management Zone 2, which has the Missouri River as its northern border and the Mississippi River as its eastern boundary. But bear sightings are rare here and occur typically in the spring, so it’s unlikely anyone would try their luck here in the fall.
Without a hunting season, the frequency of bear sightings in populated places like Jefferson County would certainly increase, and interactions between bears and people often don’t go well for either. Bears that find easy access to human-provided food sources like bird feeders, grain storage, pet food and garbage cans are quickly deemed a nuisance.
Bears that create public panic or property destruction have to be relocated or dealt with more permanently. A fed bear is a dead bear even when food was not intentionally provided.
Other comments from opponents of the bear hunting season have suggested that the population is not too large yet and not causing significant problems or damage. But waiting until an issue becomes a real problem before addressing it is short-sighted at best. We have seen how people react to the rare and random visits of black bears in populated areas, and what happens when those encounters expand rapidly.
The state’s research indicates that the black bear population is somewhere between 540 and 840. About 300 of them are fitted with tracking collars or other devices as part of the research project. The population is growing at about nine percent per year. Even if that reproduction rate doesn’t increase, their numbers could be near 1,000 in six years if we start at 540, or over 1,000 by 2023 if the current number is closer to 840.
From 2000 through 2010, the conservation department received 512 reports of bear sightings in 75 counties, an average of about 50 per year. From 2011 through 2017, that number had risen to 1,341 in 87 counties, or about 100 per year.
Opponents also contend that the population is just starting to get established and that a hunting season would lead to crippling population declines. Unregulated hunting wiped out black bears in the state in the late 1800s. White-tailed deer and wild turkeys nearly met the same fate, but because of hunting regulations and management of those resources over the past 80-plus years, those species are thriving again.
The proposed bear hunting season would last 10 days, beginning the third Monday of October. A limited number of permits would be awarded through an application and random drawing process. Hunters could take one bear, and total harvest limits would be established for each bear management zone separately. When the quota for harvested bears is reached each season, hunting will stop in that zone. Hunters must call in each morning before hunting to make sure that the quota for their zone has not been reached.
Under the proposed framework, only lone bears can be harvested. Pairs, like sows with cubs, are protected. Baiting or use of dogs will not be allowed. Hunters must report their harvest by 10 p.m. the day of the hunt and must provide a tooth within 10 days to be used in the research and management program.
The final decision is expected at the commission’s December meeting.
John Winkelman is the Associate Editor for Outdoor Guide Magazine. If you have story ideas to share, e-mail ogmjohnw@aol.com, and you can follow John on Twitter at @johnjwink99.