Bear Kill Limit May Rise 80%
Public input is sought on changing rules for hunting seasons

From the Albuquerque Journal, August 24 2010
By Rosalie Rayburn
Journal Staff Writer

    Whether the states black bears are nuisances that can be or should be hunted in greater numbers is a question that will be taken up by the state Game Commission when it holds a hearing on proposed hunting season and license changes.
    The public is invited Saturday to comment on proposals the Game and Fish Department says will balance the bear population at a level the habitat can support.
    An East Mountains-based bear advocacy group that supports maintaining a stable bear population says the proposals would allow the largest and most destructive bear hunt in New Mexico history.
    The bear hunt is unreasonable and uncalled for, said Jan Hayes, founder of Sandia Mountain BearWatch.
    Commissioners will consider proposals that would affect hunting rules for bear, cougar, antelope and deer for 2011 through 2014.
    The bear kill limit provoked the strongest criticism from BearWatch if approved, it would raise the seasons overall limit by 80 percent, from 406, including 162 females, to 733, including 318 females.
    The number would include the number of bears allowed to be killed by hunting, road accidents, and those put down for nuisance or public safety reasons, Game Department spokesman Dan Williams said.
    The meeting Saturday is part of a process that included 16 public meetings throughout the state.
    Commissioners are expected to take final action on the proposals when they meet Sept. 30 in Ruidoso.
    Williams said the rule changes are in response to an increase in the number of calls about bear nuisances and public safety issues this year.
    About 80 bears have been killed this year, compared with about 60 in all of 2009.
    Williams said the department also determined that increasing the harvest limits was sustainable because bear numbers have increased. The department estimates the bear population at 6,000 to 7,000 statewide, based on results of an eight-year study, Williams said.
    Department Director Tod Stevenson defended the proposals in a recent opinion piece in the Journal, saying they were based on scientific evidence, and that the bear population should be balanced with what its natural habitats can support.
    Hayes questioned Stevensons assertion, saying his arguments lacked hard numbers. She also criticized a change that would permit spring hunts something Williams said New Mexico has not allowed for several years which could risk females with young cubs.
    She said BearWatch has never taken an anti-hunting stance, but she is also upset by changes that would allow hunters to use calling devices and expand the opportunities for hunting with cross-bows.
    The department should do more to discourage bears from venturing into humantrafficked areas, she said, such as by ensuring campgrounds have bear-proof garbage receptacles.

Game Commission meeting
What: Public comment hearing on proposed changes to hunting season and license rules for bears, cougar, pronghorn antelope and deer When: Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Where: Albuquerque Marriott, 2101 Louisiana NE; Department of Game and Fish: 505-476-8008 or www.wildlife.state.nm.us