TRENTON — New Jersey wildlife officials are expected to adopt a new black bear policy today that will re-establish a six-day gun-hunt in December.
The hunt, the state’s first in five years, would begin Dec. 6 under the policy the state Fish and Game Council introduced in March and is expected to approve Tuesday. State Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin must then sign-off on it.
"Commissioner Martin will review the council’s decision and the public comments that have come in, and by early August he expects to make a decision on whether to approve the policy," DEP spokesman Larry Ragonese said.
Opponents and supporters of the policy expect it to be adopted.
"The decision on hunting is going to be handed down from the governor, just as it has been since Gov. (Christie) Whitman was in office. This issue will always be a political issue," said Janet Piszar of Bear Education and Resource, an anti-hunt group.
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Whitman stopped a proposed hunt in 2000, but two, six-day gun hunts were held in 2003 and 2005 under then-Gov. James McGreevey. In 2006, Gov. Jon Corzine took office and banned bear hunts. Gov. Chris Christie, who defeated Corzine, supports the hunts.
If approved, this year’s hunt would be held in an area north of Route 78 and west of Route 287, the same as previous hunts.
More than 3,400 bruins roam a portion of the state north of Route 80, according to an East Stroudsburg University study. Biologists also contend well-fed, female black bears in the mid-Atlantic region are more reproductive than elsewhere in North America, averaging three cubs per litter.
"The use of hunting to manage bear populations, with oversight from the Division of Fish and Wildlife, has not only proven effective in reducing bear populations, but also mimics Mother Nature’s predator-prey formula for providing balance and ecosystem health," said Anthony Mauro of the pro-hunt New Jersey Outdoor Alliance. "Bear education, prohibiting bird feeding and use of secured trash cans, although helpful, does not address the problem."