The fifth modern Maryland black bear season has come and gone.
This one lasted four days. That’s the longest any bear hunt has lasted. The first one was a one-day event.
Here’s something I wish. I wish the Maryland Wildlife Service would quit telling us there is a harvest range when there really is not.
This year the range was supposed to be 55 to 75 bears. The hunt was stopped when the kill reached 56, but, to me, that was not a surprise.
Each year the hunt has been stopped when the lower portion of the harvest range was approached or barely exceeded.
• 2004, harvest target 30, hunt stopped at 20.
• 2005, harvest range 40-55, hunt stopped at 40.
• 2006, harvest range 35-55, hunt stopped at 41.
• 2007, harvest range 50-70, hunt stopped at 51.
• 2008, harvest range 55-75, hunt stopped at 56.
This year’s hunt could easily have continued into Friday and probably even into Saturday.
On opening day, hunters checked in 33 bears. On the second day, Tuesday, Oct. 21, hunters registered another 10 bears.
There were 10 more on Wednesday and three more on Thursday, when the hunt was declared over and done with for 2008.
Had another five bears been killed on Friday, the total would have risen to 61. Had another five been killed Saturday, the total would have climbed to 66, still well within the harvest range. Saturday, however, turned out to have such a downpour, that hunting would have been quite difficult.
I would suggest that for future hunts the agency simply say once the harvest gets near such-and-such a number the hunt will be stopped because, thus far, the kill has never been allowed to continue toward the upper portion of the harvest range.
Forty-six of the bears taken this year came from Garrett County, meaning 10 were bagged in Allegany. The average weight was 178 pounds. Private land accounted for 86 percent of the animals. Of the successful hunters, 59 percent live in Allegany or Garrett counties.
There were 452 hunters (that includes subpermitees).
Here is some interesting data from the bear lottery drawing.
• 3,278 applied for the 220 permits.
• Application fees totaled $49,170.
• 1,845 of the applicants had a preference point from the 2007 drawing.
• 153 of the successful applicants had a preference point from the 2007 drawing.
• Next year, 1,692 applicants will have two preference points and 1,377 will have one preference point.
In spite of my concern about the way the Maryland Wildlife Service stops the bear hunt each year, I have considerable admiration for the agency’s overall management of the hunt and for the legal, emotional, political and biological hoops through which the biologists have had to jump to make bear hunting a reality in the state once again.
Although solid wildlife science was the launching pad for the hunts, there were many other realities with which the wildlife personnel had to deal.
Obviously, with more than 3,200 people willing to send in $15 simply to apply, there appeares to be not only sustained, but growing interest in Maryland bear hunting.
Contact Outdoor Editor Mike Sawyers at msawyers@times-news. com.
Michael A Sawyers - Outdoors
Interest, harvest increases in Maryland bear season
- Michael A Sawyers - Outdoors
-
-
They have their ways
“Brrrrrrrt! Brrrrrrrt!” my phone vibrates in my shirt pocket. Sometimes when that happens I think that I just burped.“Hello?” -
Md. hunt rules being formed
The Maryland Wildlife & Heritage Service, currently in the early stages of setting hunting regulations for the next two years, envisions no changes to the deer bag limits in Region A (Garrett, Allegany and western Washington counties).On the other hand, substantial changes are being eyeballed for Region B, which is all of Maryland from Clear Spring eastward to the Atlantic Ocean. -
Officers allowed to enter
Is it legal for Maryland Natural Resources Police officers to walk onto your private land?
-
Wapiti survey begins
What’s up with this elk stuff anyway?
I’m speaking, of course, about the news announced this past August that some folks are going to look around Garrett and Allegany counties to see if it would be feasible to reintroduce Rocky Mountain elk. Elk used to live here, you know. -
Jury still out on Marcellus shale drilling
Mother Earth, having been around as long as she has, should be given the right to choose elective surgery when needed rather than have exploratory surgery forced upon her.
-
Gobblers hunted on Sundays; sun still rises
See. It wasn’t the end of the world.
Well, wait a minute. I better check before I speak too quickly.
Getting on the Internet, hmmmm, hmm! Yahoo now. Hmmmm! Nope, nothing there. Checking Bing. OK. Now MSN. -
2011 was a very (insert adjective) year
As January started, grumbling could be heard on both sides of the North Branch of the Potomac River.
-
Progress in eye of beholder
Folks in the state-run hunting and fishing industry are always looking for ways to attract new license buyers.
-
W.Va. buck kill up
I have always thought that the wildlife biologists for the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources were brave. Each year, about the middle of November, they predict the buck kill for the upcoming firearms season.
-
And then there were...
I want to start this column by assuring you that I don’t begrudge anybody a buck that is taken by legal means.
- More Michael A Sawyers - Outdoors Headlines
-
