Although only a maximum 85 black bears can be shot legally during a tightly controlled upcoming hunt, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources received 3,613 applications from would-be bear hunters. Only 240 were randomly chosen to participate in the brief Oct. 26-31 season.
If the weather cooperates and the bears actively roam the hills and mountainsides of Garrett and Allegany counties - the sole areas open for the special hunt - no one believes it will take a full five days for the selected hunters to fill the allowed bruin tags.
Here’s why:
If you do not know private landowners in Allegany and Garrett counties, chances are you’ll be spending your hunting time on public lands, such as Dan’s Mountain, Warrior Mountain, Savage River State Forest or a few others that are open to all licensed hunters. The chance of running into a bear in such places exists, but it is far less likely than seeing one or two on privately owned tracts. There will be a fair number of bear hunters who have access to previously scouted, unbothered, posted properties, and that’s where the majority of the bears will be bagged.
The moment the desired number of black bear kills has been met - it most likely will be between 75 and 85 - state wildlife managers can halt the hunt immediately, in the process failing to placate complaining mountain residents whose trash cans, beehives, cornfields and fruit orchards are increasingly visited by the resourceful animals.
“Maryland’s black bear hunt is not only a unique hunting opportunity but vital to managing the bear population,” said the DNR’s game mammal project leader, Harry Spiker. “The growing popularity demonstrates that more hunters are learning about the opportunity and want to enjoy the natural resources of Maryland.”
The little state’s special hunt might present a unique opportunity for only a handful of nimrods, but in some Eastern bear hunting states, such as Pennsylvania and Virginia, more than a few snickers can be heard about all the fuss Maryland makes about its growing bear population.
For example, in 72 Virginia counties, hunters shot 2,204 black bears during the 2008-09 hunting season, and despite poor weather at the time, Pennsylvania hunters “harvested” 2,360 bears, which was a small portion of the 15,000 bruins estimated to live in the state. In 2005, more than 4,000 bears were bagged in Pennsylvania.
Unrestricted crossbows in Pa. - The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners voted down a proposal that would have restricted certain crossbow uses during the state’s 2009-10 deer and bear seasons. In July, the board approved several restrictions regarding the use of crossbows, but only a week ago another vote resulted in a 4-4 tie, thus keeping original crossbow regulations without restrictions.
Northern Virginia CCA meets - The Northern Virginia chapter of the Coastal Conservation Association will have a meeting Wednesday night at 7 at Grace Presbyterian Church in Vienna. CCA Patuxent River chapter leaders Scott McGuire and James Cotugno, who have been involved in a project to restore native oysters to the Chesapeake Bay, will be the guest speakers. There also will be plenty of talk about autumnal fishing. The public is invited, and it’s free. For more information, contact ernierojas@verizon.net.
• Look for Gene Mueller’s Outdoors column Sunday and Wednesday and his Fishing Report on Thursday, only in The Washington Times. E-mail: gmueller@washingtontimes.com. Mueller’s Inside Outside blog can be found at www.washingtontimes.com/sports.
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