Black bears getting grisly across state
01/08/07 14:27 Filed in: NJ Bear
Issue
BY FRED J. AUN
For the Star-Ledger
Scary incidents involving black bears keep happening across North Jersey even as the Corzine Administration continues to say hunting is not a valid way to stop them.
On July 13, a bear tried to enter a Knowlton woman's kitchen, where some freshly baked muffins were cooling, according to an official state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) report.
Four days later, said the DEP, a bear ripped off the window screens of a Vernon home and entered the kitchen.
And on the same day, a bear entered two tents in Worthington State Forest.
Despite these close calls, the DEP's commissioner, who canceled the 2006 bear hunt, remains steadfast in her position that non-lethal methods of bear control must prove to be failures before a tried-and-true means of wildlife population control -- hunting -- will be allowed.
For the Star-Ledger
Scary incidents involving black bears keep happening across North Jersey even as the Corzine Administration continues to say hunting is not a valid way to stop them.
On July 13, a bear tried to enter a Knowlton woman's kitchen, where some freshly baked muffins were cooling, according to an official state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) report.
Four days later, said the DEP, a bear ripped off the window screens of a Vernon home and entered the kitchen.
And on the same day, a bear entered two tents in Worthington State Forest.
Despite these close calls, the DEP's commissioner, who canceled the 2006 bear hunt, remains steadfast in her position that non-lethal methods of bear control must prove to be failures before a tried-and-true means of wildlife population control -- hunting -- will be allowed.
Commissioner Lisa Jackson recently released an
announcement asking for public input into the issue.
She also made public a proposed bear plan that would
satisfy her non-lethal requirements. It says hunting
will only be considered once non-hunting methods "are
implemented and fully analyzed and/or further action
is deemed necessary or appropriate."
The New Jersey State Federation of Sportsmen's Club wants sportsmen to write the DEP and express their opinion about Jackson's position. Federation President Ed Markowski said "August 10 could be a turning point," in the bear hunt controversy.
Not only is that the deadline for commenting about Jackson's plan, but, more importantly, it's the court ordered deadline for the DEP and the state Fish and Game Council to present a new black bear management plan they find mutually satisfactory.
When Jackson canceled the 2006 bear hunt she justified the action by contending there were big flaws in the existing bear plan, ordered by the state Supreme Court, written by the Fish and Game Council in 2005 and approved by Jackson's predecessor . The main flaw was that the plan allowed for bear hunts.
In stopping last year's hunt, Jackson said non-hunting methods had not been sufficiently pursued. The Federation and other hunting organizations sued, arguing the commissioner went beyond her authority.
Although the judge hearing the case asked the DEP and the Council to work together on a plan that satisfied both sides, there hasn't been much of that.
"They had one meeting and there was never another," said Markowski.
The Council has yet to release its version of a satisfactory new plan, but Markowski said the panel will call for hunts based on scientifically verifiable "trigger points": Data showing the non-lethal methods aren't working. "They have to be goals that are measurable, not pie in the sky," he said.
It's uncertain what the court will do Aug. 10. "That's the day when the judge says, 'Show me your bear management plan,'" said Rob Sexton of the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance, one of the plaintiffs. "The judge has options. He could say the DEP didn't comply, so the old plan is now in effect. Or he could say, 'I'll see you in a month."
Fred J. Aun covers the outdoors for The Star-Ledger. He may be reached at outdoors@starledger.com
The New Jersey State Federation of Sportsmen's Club wants sportsmen to write the DEP and express their opinion about Jackson's position. Federation President Ed Markowski said "August 10 could be a turning point," in the bear hunt controversy.
Not only is that the deadline for commenting about Jackson's plan, but, more importantly, it's the court ordered deadline for the DEP and the state Fish and Game Council to present a new black bear management plan they find mutually satisfactory.
When Jackson canceled the 2006 bear hunt she justified the action by contending there were big flaws in the existing bear plan, ordered by the state Supreme Court, written by the Fish and Game Council in 2005 and approved by Jackson's predecessor . The main flaw was that the plan allowed for bear hunts.
In stopping last year's hunt, Jackson said non-hunting methods had not been sufficiently pursued. The Federation and other hunting organizations sued, arguing the commissioner went beyond her authority.
Although the judge hearing the case asked the DEP and the Council to work together on a plan that satisfied both sides, there hasn't been much of that.
"They had one meeting and there was never another," said Markowski.
The Council has yet to release its version of a satisfactory new plan, but Markowski said the panel will call for hunts based on scientifically verifiable "trigger points": Data showing the non-lethal methods aren't working. "They have to be goals that are measurable, not pie in the sky," he said.
It's uncertain what the court will do Aug. 10. "That's the day when the judge says, 'Show me your bear management plan,'" said Rob Sexton of the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance, one of the plaintiffs. "The judge has options. He could say the DEP didn't comply, so the old plan is now in effect. Or he could say, 'I'll see you in a month."
Fred J. Aun covers the outdoors for The Star-Ledger. He may be reached at outdoors@starledger.com
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