"The last seven bear seasons represent the highest bear harvests in state history and Wisconsin continues to lead the nation with more bears harvested than in any other state," Dave MacFarland, carnivore staff specialist for the Department of Natural Resources, told board members.
"Quotas were developed through the evolution of population monitoring, harvest conflict, and input from key stakeholders," MacFarland said.
The season structure for the 2016 bear hunt is Zone C (dogs not permitted) Sept. 7 to Oct. 11 - with aid of bait and all other legal methods not using dogs. All other zones (use of dogs permitted): Sept. 7-13 - with aid of bait and all other legal methods not using dogs; Sept. 14 to Oct. 4 - with aid of bait, dogs, and all other legal methods; and Oct. 5-11 - with aid of dogs only. For more information, search the DNR website, dnr.wi.gov, for keyword "bear
Steve White's Link
Are there changes pending??? Only time will tell.....
Thanks for posting that link. I see that the quota's were approved well before the public hearing.
Why do we have public hearings if they aren't going to take those into account before the quota's are approved????
Because the whole idea of wanting public input is just a ruse. Any "meeting" the DNR has to take ideas from hunters/the public, is just blowing smoke.
They are going to have the results posted by the 15th.
Also so many people applying. Well maybe it is time to put a stop to license transfers. At least not let any new preference points count toward transfers.
And by the way, why are there about as many sows killed as boars each year in a state where sows with cubs are protected?
If you take a look at the harvest data in I bet any state. You will see that most bears harvested are sub adults. Looking at the WI age stats from 91-2012. Average male shot is in its 3rd year. Average female shot is in its 4th year. Generally sexual maturity is 3-5 yrs. So if the the show had cubs at 3. The following year with no cubs is harvested.
Think about that once. Most bears are harvested before they can even breed! Makes it hard for a population to grow dont it!
They are taking a look at the issue with hunter conflicts and will propose something for next year.
Yes, the quality of the has tumbled in the past couple of years since they have increased tags. It will continue to tumble until they realize the number of huntable acres are overcrowded.
As far as sows being killed, it happen a lot! I see more sows every year. Not all sows are bred they year they kick their cubs out. I won't put a hunter on a bait that has sows with cubs unless they have hunted with me before. 2 year old cubs are legal, but very small and a lot of hunters don't realize it until the kill it.
Steve hit the nail on the head. Hunters want to punch their tag with the first legal bear that comes in.
The only thing that the DNR and NRB are concerned about is keeping Wisconsin #1 in bear harvest. They could care less about the quality of the hunt or the quality of the bears harvested.
Yes, if one of my hunters pass on a bear it will get killed by the neighbor. We all know that and that;s the mentality out there.
Sad but true....
They are taking a look at the issue with hunter conflicts and will propose something for next year.
Yes, the quality of the has tumbled in the past couple of years since they have increased tags. It will continue to tumble until they realize the number of huntable acres are overcrowded.
As far as sows being killed, it happen a lot! I see more sows every year. Not all sows are bred they year they kick their cubs out. I won't put a hunter on a bait that has sows with cubs unless they have hunted with me before. 2 year old cubs are legal, but very small and a lot of hunters don't realize it until the kill it.
Steve hit the nail on the head. Hunters want to punch their tag with the first legal bear that comes in.
The only thing that the DNR and NRB are concerned about is keeping Wisconsin #1 in bear harvest. They could care less about the quality of the hunt or the quality of the bears harvested.
Yes, if one of my hunters pass on a bear it will get killed by the neighbor. We all know that and that;s the mentality out there.
Sad but true....
I figured there would be some sows killed that don't have cubs with them and even some that do but sure didn't think that would put their kill numbers up equal to boars.
I have killed over a dozen bears between MN, WI, and Ontario and only killed one sow that I remember. A 350# dressed dry sow about 9 years ago in Sawyer county. Had no clue she was a sow.
So I definitely agree, way too much conflict in zone c. My daughter doesn't even want to bear hunt again. She's worried about the conflict. She was with when the jerkwad tried to take over one of our baits. It got tense and if my daughter wasn't with I don't know that I would have simply walked away. This is something that use to be fun. But DNR incompetence and greed has ruined yet another thing in WI.
But, one thing MN did for a while that might help in areas that truly need the bear population knocked down is selling second tags. You don't increase hunting pressure but open up the chance of more bears being killed with fewer people. These second tags could even be limited to specific areas versus anywhere in the area your first tag was good for. (i.e. Township, county, whatever)
The issue is too many hunters per square mile of bear habitat. Everyone knows what corn and acorns can do to a bait hunter. With a good crop of each the bears don't come to the baits as often.
Many years bears don't den up in Zone C until early November and this year there were sightings into late November. If the quota is not met the DNR could extend the season and put a cap on it just like they did with the wolves and the way they do it with sturgeon spearing. When the trigger goal is met the season is over at the end of hunting hours on the following day.
They can not continue to manage the bears in the big zones like they do today. There are pockets of a lot of bears and no public access to them. There are also pockets of too many baits per square mile, and with all that food out there it is not a quality hunt.
There are a lot of options on the table, but which one will work the best for the bears, hunters and landowners??
Corn Acorns and the number of hunters trying to start their baits at the last moments
Yes, a spring season would work, but they should only allow 1 tag per person, either spring or fall, not both. May 1 - June 15 then 4 weeks of no baiting in the zone.
Never had a bear with a bad hide in Ontario in August or September.
I don't think A and D need a spring season. Don't know enough about B and C to have an opinion. Not sure if it would put more stress on Sows and cubs or help by providing sows some easy food.
It would be sweet for guides, getting baits restarted for the fall hunt would be really easy. (not that it is hard now)
I do agree that more zones or sub zones are needed to manage the population and hunting pressure better.
South of 64 is marginal habitat and not really managed for a quality hunt or numbers. It's season was created to provide an opportunity at those bears. With the exception of the Clark County Forest and the Mead there is not much for public land for the large numbers of bait sitters that get tags. So it's crowded public or small tracts of private and hope that no one within a mile or more is baiting also.
Leave as is.
People wanted more tags so the could hunt bear. Had no thought on the harvest part of it. Now got the cant, but find you cant eat it. That surely is irony isnt it.
Now you got a population of bears in an area with little to no public land. So what do most people end up doing. Crowd the public, and whine about the pressure.
Well there is a simple solution to this. It's called WORK!! Should always be scouting regardless. In those areas that's what I would do. Scout to identify the best, and most likely bear habitat. NO, this dont mean trespassing!!! Driving around looking for tracks, and sign on public roads. Looking at topo, and aerial maps. Talking to the DNR, and foresters to find areas with the most nuisance complaints. Then once you have found these higher population areas. Put your hat in hand, and start door knocking. Yes, going to get some rejection. But you will find a few willing to let you in. Especially those farmers getting a lot of crop damage.
Truth is many are not going to do the work. Just took a few minutes to look at Clark county. Literally only a few minutes to see where the MFL lands, and small pockets of public land are. Many of these spots will be overlooked. As people flock to the larger well know public lands. Can see several larger pieces of private I would look at by aerial. Than by vehicle. Then the door knocking starts.
I am always scouting. Never stop year round. Surely over 100 days in the field since last season ended already. With millions of acres of public around me. I dont need private lands. Still I have added at least 1500 acres to the list of lands I can hunt. Only through scouting, and door knocking. Its a lot of work that never stops. It is what must be done to be successful!
Minnesota has 11 zones north of St Cloud plus the no quota area and I have not heard of any complaints about it costing too much or there being too many units. It helps to balance out the pressure and nuisance complaints. Permits in these units vary from 50 to 900 and unlimited.
Heck I have started baits in the SE Minnesota part of the no quota area on years I did not have a quota tag and knew of bear sightings. But the occasional bear down there are on the move and do not hang around even if they happen to find the bait.
