http://www.northjersey.com/new...esters.html?page=all


North Jersey bear hunt brings out a rush of permit seekers and protesters

Sunday, December 2, 2012 Last updated: Sunday December 2, 2012, 7:33 PM

BY MONSY ALVARADO

STAFF WRITER

The Record




Hunters hit stores Sunday to purchase permits and last-minute items to prepare for the state’s third consecutive annual bear hunt, which begins Monday, while opponents prepared to protest.

The North Haledon General Store, which began offering hunting licenses and black bear hunting area permits this year, has seen an increase in walk-ins the last few weeks, with a spike in customers the last three days, said owner David Schottanes.

“Even today, it’s usually a slow day,’’ said Schottanes. “But they’ve been coming in and out the door all day.”

Meanwhile, at least one group of protesters planned to congregate Monday at Whittingham Wildlife Management Area in Sussex County. Organizers said although protests are scheduled, this year their focus will primarily be to change legislation on baiting.

“We are going in the legislative direction to keep bears and people apart in a positive way and to limit bear and human interaction and get rid of the excuses for the hunt,’’ Susan Russell of the Animal Protection League of New Jersey said on Sunday.

The organization is one of two pushing for support of a state bill that would ban hunters from “baiting” bears with food and also require residents in communities near where bears live to use bear-resistant trash containers.

Russell said her organization has planned a limited number of protests this year.

“It’s just getting more difficult to find and get accessible areas where people can come together and park their cars,’’ she said.

The bear hunt runs through Saturday. It is being held in conjunction with the state’s six-day firearm deer hunting season. The bear hunt is confined to four areas north of Route 78 and west of Route 287.

Hunters are limited to hunt one black bear for the season even if they possess permits for two separate hunting areas, according to information on the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Division of Fish & Wildlife website. There is a limit of two permits per hunter, it says.

In Paterson, at the Totowa Bait and Tackle Shop, a couple of permits were sold Sunday, but most were purchased during the week, said an employee who answered the phone, but declined to give her name.

At Frank’s Tackle in Wanaque, “plenty of customers” were buying items, including hunting gear and licenses and permits, said Tony Danis, a store employee.

“I have three customers waiting now,’’ he said late Sunday morning.

More than 6,700 bear hunting permits had been secured by late last week, compared with about 9,200 in 2011. The DEP expects a similar number of bears to be “harvested” as last year, when 469 bears were killed.

There are 2,800 to 3,000 black bears living in North Jersey, down from 3,400 two years ago, the DEP estimates. Bear sightings have dropped 34 percent, damage and nuisance complaints decreased 26 percent, and dangerous incidents declined 43 percent through the end of October, compared with the same time last year, according to the DEP.

Obviously hunting works
Wonder what the NJ politician says about this , the one who wanted to put up a long fence to keep out the nasty PA bears ? Anyway the bear population in general has grown.Here in the Catskills ,in my area it's almost like more bear than deer have been taken. One a nice 550 lb one !

quote:

Bear sightings have dropped 34 percent, damage and nuisance complaints decreased 26 percent, and dangerous incidents declined 43 percent through the end of October, compared with the same time last year, according to the DEP.

See hunting does no good. Bears that do not learn to change their bears ways they are just shot.

Not my bear but a big one.

http://www.newjerseyhunter.com/article140250.htm

Bear weight 702. Post by the hunter who shot it. Nice work.

Nice work shooting it, but now they need to learn how to safely take a photo seeing as that gun is pointing right at him-duh!!! Those are excellent pictures in the link though!