DR KILL

now dont get me wrong guys i think black bear are a awesome trophy but i was thinking one of the main reasons the dnr are pushing for this hunt is because of all the problems the bears are causing in the garret co. area, mainly around deep creak lake and peoples trash sites, they say there are around 400 black bear in md to me thats not an overwhelming #, i really cant see how taking a bear in greenridge forest is going to help the people out with the (problem bears ) bears in there trash in the urban area,s i think the owners of the land or houses should be aloud to take the trouble bears after they are concidered a lost cause , someone told me today that a lawyer filled a lawsuite to stop the bear hunt in md , i was wondering do we really need a bear season in maryland or should just the trouble bears be taken out. just wondering how you all felt about everything,,,,,

boy i know i opened up a can of worms, sorry in advance lol

jbc

You are buying the anti's lies.

A bear has a huge range and the same bear in your garbage is the same bear 5 miles into the woods. They come out because there is less food in the woods.

It's a good idea to be neat with your garbage. In locking up your garbage you have protected your garbage but this does nothing for wildlife management.

If we have an abundance of any game animal we should harvest the surplus. To do anything else is not responsible conservation.

RugerHunter

I live in SW PA and am likely to see 1 bear a year if I am lucky. This year I have been hunting in MD near Frostburg. In the last 3 weeks, between my dad, brother and I, we have seen 4 different bears in approx. a half sq. mile area. Every trip down we are seeing bears or fresh sign. I'm no expert, but this seems to be a pretty high concentration for a mostly forest area. JMO

mysticguido

Thats just like here in Jersey, Like JBC said " If we have an abundance of any game animal we should harvest the surplus " and to do that We as hunters are being responsible Conservationiest. If You look in the Bible, there are lines that talk about hunting the Game, GOD gave Us all. The Anti's talk about helping, But look and see where most of the money comes from to really help WildLife & Habitat. SPORTSMEN/WOMEN.... Good Luck to Everyone going on their Maryland's Bear Hunt.

Aught Six

Also keep in mind that by ignoring an increasing population now, it will lead to a lot of trouble down the road. In California the mountain lions were protected "because their numbers were low". Even after they began to regain a foothold in the state, public opinion remained solidly against any resumption of hunting or trapping. The state continued to ignore the biological data in favor of political correctness--now they've had more attacks in the past ten years than the hundred before.

Wildlife management is not a part-time job, and it can't be set aside until it's too late. Too late means just what it says.

DR KILL

YES LIKE I SAID THE GOAL IS TO KILL 30 BEARS, I THINK IF YOU KILL THE 30 CAUSING THE PROBLEMS THEN THAT IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO, I BELIEVE EITHER THE LANDOWNER OR THE DNR SHOULD TAKE THEM OUT,I THINK MAKEING A PUBLIC HUNT AND CHARGING US 30$ FOR AN APLICATION JUST TO BE IN THE LOTERY IS NOT TAKING CARE OF THE PROBLEM , I HAVE BEEN HUNTING GREENRIDGE FOR MANY YEARS AND HAVE ONLY SEEN A HANDFULL OF BEARS, I HAVE BEEN TO DEEP CREAK LAKE AND HAVE SEEN MORE IN A WEEKEND (DIFFERENT BEARS) THEN ALL MY HUNTING YEARS COMBINED. SO THE AREA IM TALKING IS OVER 60 MILES AWAY ,SO WHAT I AM SAYING IF YOU KILL 30 BEARS ON ONSIDE OF THE STATE THE PROBLEM IS STILL GOING TO BE THERE IN DEEPCREAK LAKE THE SAME AS IT WAS BEFORE THE SEASON AND NOW THE FOREST ARE OUT 30 BEARS.

Aught Six

The way I look at it, the hunt will lead to 30 fewer bears competing for food. That right there leads to perhaps 30 other bears that won't need to poke around houses and campsites to find dinner (for a total of 60 bears prevented from bothering humans). Like jbc said, they will go wherever the food is, and they're not hesitant to go long distances if necessary. Their ecosystem goes well beyond the borders of Western Maryland.

Also, I don't understand why you're mentioning Greenridge. The hunt takes place in Garrett and Allegany Counties, in which area Deep Creek Lake is found.

jbc

DR. K,

You're not listening. The SAME bears that are causing problems are the SAME bears in the deep woods. They have a HUGE home range.

BTW, in NJ after our first hunt complaints are down. Not a single one of the 328 bears we killed broke into a house, killed a pet or chased school children this year. See, it works.

slicendice

I can't understand people who don't live in or around the problem areas complaining so much about the hunt. I belong to a hunt club in Garrett county and know people who live there. I've heard their stories about being told by DNR to stay in their houses because there are problem bears in the area. I've been on hunts and saw sign of 5 different bears within a half mile area. And besides the problem bears, DNR reports something like 30 bears a year are struck and killed on MD roads and highways. So, not just problem bears are causing problems, it's all bears. There are simply getting to be too many in that area. And the number of 400 bears, in my opinion, is probably on the very low side. I've seen too many bears, saw too much sign and saw bears in too many different parts of the state to believe that there are only 400 bears in the entire state.

I personally think we oughtta make the anti's opposing the hunt live in an area with the bears for a while and see if their opinions changes. It would probably only take 1 bear hitting their car or one bear rumaging through their trash or one bear showing no fear of them to change their minds.

Just my opinion,

Slice

jroot

i don't think the hunt really matters, look at the percentage of land MD makes up on the pan handle ...PA and WV already have bear seasons ...i can't see any real harm in adding MD into the fold also, right now it seems that it's a refuge for all the local bears.