N.J. OKs Second Week of Bear Hunt, Use of Bow, Expansion Into Mercer County

By JASON KOESTENBLATT (Patch Staff)

New Jersey’s bear hunt expands into a small portion of Mercer County this year after Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Bob Martin signed off on an expanded bear hunt this week.

Martin cited research that claims New Jersey bears are reproducing quicker than they’re dying and expanding their habitat in signing off on the expansion.

The bear hunt, which has lasted one week in December each of the last five years, has three new forms of expansion: territories are wider, the use of bow hunting for three days, and an extra week of hunting available in October.

The latter two items regarding bow hunting and the additional week will be implemented in 2016, while the expanded territories will begin this December 7 through 12.

When the hunting zone was approved in 2010, 1,000 square-miles of northwestern New Jersey was part of the territory, including all or portions of Hunterdon, Passaic, Morris, Somerset, Sussex, and Warren Counties, along with a small piece of Bergen County.

Beginning this year, the DEP said, the zones will expand to include the remaining area of Hunterdon and Morris counties, an additional portion of Passaic County, and a small portion of Mercer County. Also, with the exception of Franklin, all of Somerset County will be included in the new map.

“These expansions will help control the population in areas where reports of bear and human encounters have been increasing due to bears expanding their habitat,” the DEP said.

Specifically the new policy adds:

• Continues the annual six-day December firearm hunting season. The hunt may be extended by up to four days if poor weather or other conditions result in a reduced harvest. This year’s hunt will begin December 7.
• Adds an additional six-day October hunting season beginning in 2016, three days for bow hunting only and three days for bow hunting and hunting with muzzle-loading guns. Bow hunting will enable hunting of nuisance bears that can be difficult to hunt by gun in certain areas.
• Increases the allowable per-hunter harvest from one bear to two bears beginning next year, provided the first bear is taken during the October bow/muzzle-loading hunt and the second is taken during the December firearm hunt.
• Begins the process of developing an estimate for a statewide bear population.
• Re-emphasizes the importance of ongoing public education efforts, trash management and research. Efforts will be focused on urban areas and parts of the state where bears are expanding their range.

The DEP said new analysis shows the bear population in northwestern New Jersey – among the densest in the nation – is about 3,500, which is nearly the same as when the hunt was first authorized in 2010.

“The population has not decreased significantly because reproduction rates, known as recruitment, have exceeded mortality from hunting and natural causes. The number of bears harvested in the five hunts has steadily dropped from 592 in the first season, to fewer than 300 animals in subsequent seasons, due in large part to poor weather at that time of year and a more wary bear population,” the DEP said.