Bears again in N.J.'s sights
31/07/07 15:12 Filed in: NJ Bear
Issue
Hearing to focus
on using hunt to reduce numbers
BY ROB JENNINGS DAILY RECORD
A public hearing on the volatile bear hunt issue will be held next week in Trenton, the state Department of Environmental Protection said on Monday.
The acting chairwoman of the state Fish and Game Council, Jeannette A. Vreeland, said on Monday that a bear hunt is needed.
"There's just too many bears, and too many break-ins. For the safety of the people, it's needed," Vreeland said.
The DEP, which blocked a hunt endorsed last year by the Fish and Game Council, again is on the opposite side.
BY ROB JENNINGS DAILY RECORD
A public hearing on the volatile bear hunt issue will be held next week in Trenton, the state Department of Environmental Protection said on Monday.
The acting chairwoman of the state Fish and Game Council, Jeannette A. Vreeland, said on Monday that a bear hunt is needed.
"There's just too many bears, and too many break-ins. For the safety of the people, it's needed," Vreeland said.
The DEP, which blocked a hunt endorsed last year by the Fish and Game Council, again is on the opposite side.
"There is a great deal
of emphasis on nonlethal strategies," DEP spokeswoman
Darlene Yuhas said. She was referring to an
enforcement campaign aimed at getting residents to
secure their garbage and avoid feeding bears.
The meeting will be held on Aug. 8 at 6:30 p.m. at the New Jersey State Museum in Trenton.
Vreeland said the meeting should be held closer to northwestern New Jersey, where bears are more prevalent.
"They wouldn't do it up here in bear country, where it would be appropriate," Vreeland said, adding that she expects to attend the meeting.
Yuhas countered that the Fish and Game Council has held public meetings in Trenton on the bear hunt.
"It's a convenient, central location," Yuhas said.
A 37 percent increase in aggressive bear activity, acknowledged by the DEP in June, was the latest development in the long-running bear hunt debate.
From Jan. 1 through June 18, there were 48 reports of Category 1 bear activity -- such as an animal trying to break into a home or making an unprovoked attack on a pet dog -- up from 35 through the same period in 2006, according to the DEP.
While hunt supporters seized upon the surge in aggressive bear activity, Yuhas said the timeframe was too narrow to drawn any conclusions.
No bear attacks on people have been reported.
DEP permitted six-day bear hunts in 2003 -- the first in more than three decades -- and in 2005 before blocking last year's hunt.
While previous bear population estimates ranged between 1,400 and 3,200, Yuhas said those figures were no longer considered reliable by the DEP and that new calculations would have to be made.
"We do not have a reliable population estimate," Yuhas said.
Vreeland said DEP was mistaken in emphasizing non-lethal alternatives, such as garbage inspections, in lieu of a hunt.
"It's basically a management of people, not of bears. Bear management is working with bears, as well as having a hunt to limit them," Vreeland said.
Rob Jennings can be reached at (973) 428-6667 or robjennings@gannett.com.
The meeting will be held on Aug. 8 at 6:30 p.m. at the New Jersey State Museum in Trenton.
Vreeland said the meeting should be held closer to northwestern New Jersey, where bears are more prevalent.
"They wouldn't do it up here in bear country, where it would be appropriate," Vreeland said, adding that she expects to attend the meeting.
Yuhas countered that the Fish and Game Council has held public meetings in Trenton on the bear hunt.
"It's a convenient, central location," Yuhas said.
A 37 percent increase in aggressive bear activity, acknowledged by the DEP in June, was the latest development in the long-running bear hunt debate.
From Jan. 1 through June 18, there were 48 reports of Category 1 bear activity -- such as an animal trying to break into a home or making an unprovoked attack on a pet dog -- up from 35 through the same period in 2006, according to the DEP.
While hunt supporters seized upon the surge in aggressive bear activity, Yuhas said the timeframe was too narrow to drawn any conclusions.
No bear attacks on people have been reported.
DEP permitted six-day bear hunts in 2003 -- the first in more than three decades -- and in 2005 before blocking last year's hunt.
While previous bear population estimates ranged between 1,400 and 3,200, Yuhas said those figures were no longer considered reliable by the DEP and that new calculations would have to be made.
"We do not have a reliable population estimate," Yuhas said.
Vreeland said DEP was mistaken in emphasizing non-lethal alternatives, such as garbage inspections, in lieu of a hunt.
"It's basically a management of people, not of bears. Bear management is working with bears, as well as having a hunt to limit them," Vreeland said.
Rob Jennings can be reached at (973) 428-6667 or robjennings@gannett.com.
