Without a variety of methods for hunters to kill bear, Maine state biologists worry the state will lose control.

The referendum in November would ban baiting, trapping and dogs in the hunt for Maine bear.

“If these three harvest methods are outlawed, the department’s ability to control bear numbers through regulated hunting seasons will be compromised,” said former state biologist Craig McLaughlin.

McLaughlin, now living in Utah, and Jennifer Vashon, Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Department’s Bear Project leader, believe the state will have a difficult time trying to harvest the 3,500 to 4,000 bear they say would maintain the statewide population at 23,000.

About 78 percent of bears are harvested during the bait season (Aug. 25 through Sept. 20 last year), 10 percent with the aid of dogs (Sept. 8 through Oct. 31 in 2003), 2 percent by trapping (Sept. 1 through Oct. 31 in 2003), and the remaining 10 percent by still-hunting/stalking or unreported methods.

“We question whether 3,500 plus bears can be harvested in Maine via stalking or still-hunting, because of Maine’s dense forest understory and vast wetlands that allow bears to remain secluded,” the department states.

Symbol threatened

Vashon said conflicts between bears and people would increase if the population is not checked by the three harvest methods.

“If bear populations increase, a species that is highly valued and considered a symbol of the wild may once again be regarded as a pest, as it was for many years,” Vashon said.

With current methods, the department is able to maintain the population at 23,000 bears by harvesting an average of 3,712 black bears each year.

If the referendum ban is approved, Vashon said the department would be forced to lengthen the hunting season, establish additional seasons (e.g., revive the spring season), and/or increase the bag limit from one bear per person to more.

This could potentially put bear hunters in the woods with tourists, loggers and hunters of other game, and increase kill numbers of female bears exiting winter dens, thereby orphaning cubs.

McLaughlin added another complication to the projection of bear supply and demand – that of uncertainty of widespread loss of beech trees in northern Maine.

Beechnut key

In northern Maine’s expansive forests, cub reproduction is strongly influenced by beechnut abundance.

“It is uncertain whether a catastrophic loss of beech trees will occur in the region. Many stands are heavily infected with beech bark disease, and mature beech trees continue to be removed through timber harvests,” McLaughlin said.

Beech trees do not produce regular nut crops until their 40th year, he added.

Conversely, bear productivity in western, eastern and central Maine would be less affected due to alternate fall foods. But this is where Vashon and McLaughlin say the bear vs. people conflicts would increase due to residential development and rising human populations.

According to the department, “Increased human-bear encounters will require expensive relocation or lethal control of bears.”

On hold

If the referendum passes, the state would take no immediate action, said Ken Elowe, the department’s director of the Bureau of Resource Management. Instead, they would wait, watch and see how the bear population changes, how hunter effort changes and how bear harvesting changes.

He said it would be a few years before any change is seen.

tkarkos@sunjournal.com

Copy the Story Link