NJ bear hunt saw third-highest kill count during archery season

Saturday’s rain cut down on the number of bow hunters in the woods for the last day of the archery season for black bears in northwestern New Jersey, but the season’s total was still thirdhighest of the archery seasons.

This year’s harvest was 330 bears, with just 19 reported killed on Saturday in the rain. The highest daily take was last Monday, with 105.

The 330 bears killed trails the 562 taken the first year of the hunt in 2016 and the 336 in 2020. There were no archery hunts in 2021 — when there was no bear hunt at all — or in 2022, when only the shotgun season was held in December under an emergency plan.

According to state court rulings, a bear hunt, either archery or firearm, can be set only if such a hunt is part of the approved Comprehensive Black Bear Management Policy, which is valid for five years. A new black bear policy was approved earlier this year and signed by the Department of Environmental Protection commissioner and Gov. Phil Murphy.

Black bears must be checked in as soon as possible according to the policy, either through one of five check stations or by a Division of Fish and Wildlife biologist or technician going to the hunter. That was most likely the case for bears taken in the late afternoon Saturday with no time to make it to one of the stations before it closed.

The harvest rate stands at 13.6% and is important because the Division of Fish and Wildlife director can extend the December hunt beyond the scheduled six days if the rate is below 20%. The hunt must be stopped if the rate gets to 30%.

According to wildlife experts, growth in population of wild game animals can be held in check if about 20% of its population is killed during a hunting season. More than 30% can lead to a decline in population, leading to extinction.

Before the hunt, biologists determine how many animals there are in a population, which then determines things like the extent of a hunting season and areas to be hunted.

In the case of black bears in New Jersey, that population estimate is used to determine how many bears will be livetrapped and tagged in the months leading up to the hunt.

The number of bears with those special ear tags, and matching numbers tattooed on the inner lip, brought to check stations determines the “harvest rate,” or target for the number of bears to be killed during the archery and firearm seasons.

The number of bears killed in previous hunts are:

• 2020: 336 bears.

• 2019: 265 bears.

• 2018: 140 bears.

• 2017: 244 bears.

• 2016: 562 bears.

The bear hunting area is in the northwestern part of New Jersey and includes all of Sussex and Warren counties and parts of Passaic, Morris, Bergen, Hunterdon, Somerset and Mercer counties.

Within that area, there are five zones, and a bear hunter needs a $2 permit to hunt in a particular zone. A hunter is allowed to purchase two permits, but only one per zone. They may kill only one bear per season, but the zone permits are good for both the archery and firearm seasons.

Again this year, Sussex County led, with the number of black bears killed at 156, followed by Warren at 100 and Morris at 52. There were 16 bears harvested in Passaic County and six in Hunterdon County. No bears were killed in the other three counties.

The shotgun hunt — known as Segment B — will be Dec. 4 to 9, and if the 20% harvest rate is not reached, it could be extended the next week.

BRUCE SCRUTON/NEW JERSEY HERALD Wildlife worker Kaitlyn Barone attaches an official ear tag to a bear brought to the Whittingham check station on Oct. 9, the opening day of the black bear archery season in New Jersey. The bear was killed on private property in Andover Township.