Outdoors: McClory: Bear in mind the ursine population has exploded

Preliminary reports reveal that a record 202 black bears were harvested by licensed hunters in central and western Massachusetts during the Sept. 2-20 bear season.The tally includes 186 bears that were reported online (either by home internet users or by staff at physical check stations), six bears checked in at check stations in the Western district, and 10 bruins checked in at Connecticut Valley district check stations. The previous bear harvest record was set in 2012 with 185 bears reported for both the September and November seasons.As briefly reported a few weeks ago, Maine’s bear management program is the subject of a statewide referendum. Hunters and residents alike will face a referendum vote (LD 1474) that could ban hunting black bears with hounds, hunting them over bait, and trapping.I now have some additional information on the subject. Not too long ago, voters in Massachusetts, Colorado, Washington and Oregon banned bear hunting with bait and hounds from 1992 to 1996. As a result, these states have has seen an increase in the bear population, an increase in the number of nuisance complaints, an increase in the number of nuisance bears killed and an increased cost to the public as a result of expanding bear populations.Here in Massachusetts, Wayne MacCallum, director of the state’s Department of Fish and Game’s Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, said in an Aug. 24 article in the Portland Press Herald, “the bear population has increased seven-fold and bear conflicts have increased by 500 percent?The bear population is expanding eastward,” he said. “Every year now there is an increasing number of juvenile bears in metropolitan Boston, and if we can’t harvest significantly more, the population will continue to increase.”Wayne further stated, “we now have largest bear population in the state for at least 200 years, and are constantly relocating bears. At some point we will just have so many bears that people won’t tolerate them.” Leaving bear management in the capable hands of Maine’s wildlife biologists and game wardens will ensure that bears retain their stature as one of our state’s most treasured resources.uHunting season is right around the corner. With luck, you will soon be sitting at a dinner table set with a delicious meal of a sustainable food harvested here in Massachusetts. For many, hunting is a family tradition passed down through generations, and the traditions aren’t limited to knowledge of the field.Preparing wild game or fish, whether using family recipes or creating your own, is part of the fun. MassWildlife wants your recipes for wild game or fish to use on a new part of our website currently being developed. If you have a great recipe to share, please send it (along with a photo if possible) to Astrid Huseby at [email protected]. Or mail the recipe and picture to the Mass. Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, with an attention to Astrid Huseby, 1 Rabbit Hill Road, Westborough, 01581.Please let her know whether you would like to include your name with the recipe.uYou will always be in style in the woods by wearing fluorescent hunter orange. According to a nationwide survey, you are seven times less likely to be shot by another hunter if you are wearing fluorescent orange. Hunters who wear it are just as likely to be successful because it’s highly visible to humans, but not to deer. Hunters moving into the line of fire of other hunters and mistaking other hunters for game are two common causes of hunting accidents. Both types involve visibility problems and both underscore the need for hunters to see and be seen during the fall firearms deer and small game seasons. Remember your hunter orange, don’t leave home without it!Early Saturday morning, Nov. 1, resident rifle hunters of Maine will be dressed in orange and headed to their stands at dawn for the start of Maine’s rifle season for deer. Not being residents of Maine, our hunting party will have to wait for Monday morning because we are not