On 21 July 2010, Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin approved a new Comprehensive Black Bear Management Program (CBBMP) for the State of New Jersey that would include the reintroduction of lethal measures to limit black bear (Ursus americanus) populations. The lethal management provisions would support the reopening of the New Jersey bear hunt, which has been closed since 2005.

Black Bear with a Fish. Credit: Alan Vernon/Wikimedia Commons
The American black bear is North America’s smallest and most common bear. Its range extends over nearly all of Canada, and it is pervasive throughout the Cascade, Rocky and Appalachian mountain ranges in the United States. Small, scattered populations of several subspecies (including the Mexican Black Bear, Florida Black Bear, and Louisiana Black Bear) receive varying levels of protection from federal and state agencies.
New Jersey has a stable population of the Eastern black bear subspecies. Current estimates size the population at around 3,400 bears – a significant rise from the 1992 population of 500, and one that can be primarily attributed to protections received during the 1990s.

New Jersey black bear distribution map. Credit: NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife
Serious bear conflicts have also risen – by 2009, they were up 96% from 2006 numbers. In 2010, 76 Category 1 (most aggressive) bear incidents have been reported, and 13 aggressive bears have been euthanized. Over 9,000 comments on the CCBMP, including many that opposed a hunt, were received by the NJ Fish & Game Council before their vote in its favor on 13 July 2010. The decision to use lethal management was announced shortly thereafter, and attributed to a lack of efficient and effective alternatives.
Because the intent of the hunt is to reduce the overall bear population, all sex and size classes of bear (including yearling bears and sows with cubs) will be eligible for the hunt.
Details of the Bear Hunt
The hunt is scheduled to take place from 6 – 11 December 2010, on a 1,000-square-mile region of northern New Jersey situated north of Rte. 78 and west of Rte. 278. The area covers four bear hunt zones: Morris, Sussex, Warren, and Passaic counties. Hunters receiving a permit will be allowed to hunt only in their designated hunt zone.

New Jersey black bear hunting zone map. Credit: NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife
The permit period for the hunt opens on 1 October 2010, but the bear hunter seminar courses required to apply for a permit are
scheduled from 7 September through 10 November 2010. Hunters who retain a valid certification from 2003 to 2006 are not required to attend the seminar courses. The bag limit is one bear per hunter, and youth hunters with a valid permit are allowed to participate.
Controversy
The revised CBBMP has come under fire from animal rights and animal welfare groups, who oppose the hunt in favor of nonlethal bear management methods such as relocation, public education, and aversive conditioning.
Martin notes that although he continues to support and explore nonlethal options for wildlife management, the conclusions of the CCBMP were that lethal options would be the most effective and efficient way to limit the New Jersey bear population.
More Information
Learn more about bears in New Jersey by visiting the NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife’s Bear Fact Page.
Read FAQs about the 2010 bear hunt in New Jersey on the NJ DFW’s Bear Hunt page.
Review the Comprehensive Black Bear Management Policy here.
The Wildlife Society has provided comments in support of the CCBMP. Read more about those comments here.
Alexandra Sutton Uncategorized
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