Hunters kill 3,659 bears, No. 2 harvest in 10 years
About 4,000 wild black bears lived in the nation’s 10th-most populated state in 1981. During the 2021 bear seasons, Pennsylvania hunters claimed 3,659 bears, nearly the same number as lived in the state in the early ’80s.
Last year’s statewide harvest ranks as the fifth-best harvest ever, the second-largest since 2011. In 2020, hunters killed 3,621 bears.
Science-based wildlife management has enabled the bear population to exceed 20,000 despite continued habitat loss. When bears began entering populated areas, the state Game Commission adapted and largely kept bears and people apart, according to bear harvest figures for 2021.
The state Game Commission said Monday that creating more opportunities for bear hunters is reducing bear-human contact in southwestern Pennsylvania.
“Pennsylvania has a long history of supporting a lot of black bears, many of truly impressive size, across most of the state,” said Emily Carrollo, a Game Commission black bear biologist. “Best of all, the future continues to look bright for this resource, too. Pennsylvania has been a popular bear hunting destination for years, and I don’t expect that to change anytime soon.”
The statewide regular bear season accounted for the largest part of the 2021 bear harvest. Hunters took 1,315 bears in that four-day hunt. The extended bear season — which last year for the first time allowed hunters to harvest bears throughout the opening weekend of deer season in some wildlife management units — contributed 1,128 animals to the harvest. The archery bear season added another 680, while the muzzleloader and special firearms bear season harvest was 536.
By comparing yearly harvest reports and sex ratios, berry and nut production, road kills, urban expansion, human-bear conflicts, birth estimates and other criteria in each wildlife management unit, biologists can predict how many bears will need to be added or removed to support population growth while avoiding conflicts, including ones between bears in which infant males are killed by territorial adult males.
The Game Commission suggested that increased sale of bear
hunting licenses in 2021 and more bear hunting opportunities led to more bears killed in this region. In southwest Pennsylvania, where seasons were extended, the numbers were 41 in Westmoreland County (32 in 2020) and seven in Allegheny County, (three in 2020). In southeastern counties, the bear harvest was up and down: 61 in Schuylkill County (78 in 2020); 54 in Dauphin (37); 13 in Northampton ( 23); 12 in Berks (15); eight in Lebanon (nine); six in Lehigh (seven); and two in Bucks (0).
Venture Outdoors pilot program funded
Fishing and paddling on the Allegheny River’s North Shore have become a thing, and additional programs at Venture Outdoors have made it easy for thousands of people to get outside.
The region’s biggest outdoor recreation coordinator was awarded more than $200,000 to support the establishment of a First Catch Center pilot program for Pittsburgh. Commissioners approved the education grant at their recent winter meeting.
First Catch Centers are a concept of the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation, designed to provide fishing and boating experiences in urban communities. In 2021, Fish and Boat partnered with Venture Outdoors to apply for a grant through the Richard King Mellon Foundation, which supported programs aimed at recruiting, retaining and reactivating people who have or have had an interest in outdoor recreation. The $150,000 Mellon Foundation grant will be “a pass-through grant,” meaning funds will be awarded to Fish and Boat before being redistributed to Venture Outdoors.
In addition to the Mellon grant, Fish and Boat will provide roughly $70,000 of in-kind match for the Pittsburgh pilot program, and Recreational Boating and Fishing will provide $25,000 to purchase a cargo trailer and make necessary modifications.
The Pittsburgh pilot program is scheduled to be carried out by Venture Outdoors beginning in the spring and will conclude in fall 2023. Fifty educational programs are expected to be conducted.
A First Catch Center was established in Philadelphia in 2018 and is maintained through funding provided by Fish and Boat and the Samuel Gaun Estate.
Penn State fly fishing
A $250,000 endowment will help Penn State’s fly fishing program to remain among the best.
The grant from an anonymous supporter was submitted with a request that the program be renamed the Joe Humphreys Fly Fishing Program, drawing attention to the contributions Humphreys has made through nearly 20 years of teaching and some 50 years of fly fishing advocacy and fundraising in support the program.