MORE BEAR HUNTING CHANGES IN 2016

Today, the Wildlife Resources Commission’s Big Game Committee began its review of the Black Bear Management Plan for 2012-2020. From comments made in prior meetings, it is clear they intend to make changes to the Plan, though the stated intent of the WRC in 2014 was to leave the Black Bear Management Plan (BBMP) in place for three years to see how the 2014 still-hunting with unprocessed-bait change would affect bear hunting. The 2014 hunting data is now available, with partial 2015 data from the first bear season. The bear take did not significantly increase, and the bear population has grown, especially in the coastal region. Some Commissioners are pushing hard to implement more changes immediately, while others are more cautious. It appears they will not wait three years to implement additional changes.



The bear meeting lasted for more than three (3) hours of discussion. Thanks to David Simmons, Vice President of the NC Bear Hunters Association for his attendance and comments. Bear hunters Reed Sheffield and Terry Morris from Vanceboro attended, as well as Jerry Sawyer from Beaufort County. They all contributed with excellent comments. David Hoyle, former WRC member, told the Big Game Committee they could not succeed in reducing the bear population in coastal NC without the active parti****tion of dog hunters. In addition to a strong presence by coastal bear hunters at this planning session, there was a game preserve manager who addressed the Committee. He do***ented a dramatic and unwanted rise in the black bear population on 3,400 acres he manages in Pitt & Beaufort Counties, some of the land within eight miles of Greenville. Despite their efforts to take more bear, including one day per week with dogs, they were unable to prevent an increase in the bear population, which has damaged the habitat they have cultivated for whitetail, duck, and turkey. He testified that under the current rules, they have been unable to hunt enough days to kill enough bears to bring down the population on the land he manages.



SUMMARY OF ISSUES RAISED (Please note: Nothing has been decided and no votes were taken)

Investigate possibility of statewide increase in still hunting opportunities
Investigate possibility of statewide increase in Youth Days & Wounded Warrior Days
Possibly open Bear Sanctuaries for Youth Days & Wounded Warrior Days
Investigate possibilities of increase take in Coastal Region, but not in Mountain or Piedmont Regions (spots in Coastal Region have abundance of bears, specific to certain areas)
How to encourage take of more smaller bears
i. Difference between population management & trophy management

ii. Must take more small bears to bring down population

iii. Must take more female bears to bring down population

Second Tag possibilities
i. Increase cost of Second Tag?

ii. Sell to Landowners?

iii. Sell to Clubs?

iv. Conduct a Drawing?

Longer coastal bear season(s)
i. what longer bear seasons might look like (many ideas)

ii. various areas within Coastal Region (example NE counties and SE counties are very different)

Permitted hunts on Bear Sanctuaries
Clarify baiting laws for still hunters (“get rid of gray area” per comment)
i. Bait the entire season

ii. Make it easier to legally take bear close to bait pile; (e.g., deer hunter afraid to take bear near bait pile, not sure if it is legal)

BMAP program redesign a “Bear Management Assistance Program” (modeled after Beaver Management Assistance Program). Legislation would be required for this program.
WRC can initiate Youth hunts and Wounded Warrior hunts in 2016.
WRC cannot institute rule changes for 2016 hunting season, as it is too late in the rule making cycle. But Temporary Rules may be passed, although the Temporary Rule Making process takes several months, and requires public notice.
Committee requested WRC Staff to bring back specific data on 2015 bear harvest to the February 2016 committee meeting, as well as specific recommendations based on the seven potential strategies identified by the Committee during this meeting. Identify which strategies are most likely to actually reduce bear population in coastal region.
WRC member Tim Spear from Washington County expressed the need to review requirements for “guides,” other than the requirement to pay a $15.00 guide license fee. As commercial hunts become more prevalent and large fees ($5,000 to $10,000) are paid to kill a bear, Commissioner Spear expressed his opinion that the guide needs to assume at least some responsibility (Hunter Safety Course not required, for example). We may hear more about this issue in the future, if not from the WRC, then from the NC General Assembly. Commissioner Spear is a retired WRC Officer and Legislator from Washington County.


The next special meeting of the WRC Big Game Committee to study the bear issue will be sometime in late January 2016 or February 2016 (date to be arranged).



JANUARY 2016 PUBLIC HEARINGS FOR PROPOSED RULE CHANGES FOR 2016-2017 HUNTING SEASON

The NC Wildlife Resources Commission has resumed their annual Public Hearings in January of each year, with a 7:00 pm public hearing in each of the nine Districts. These Public Hearings begin on January 5, 2016. Click here for the schedule and locations. Joe & Henri will attend some but not all, and recommend someone from your Club attend the Hearing in your District. There are significant changes proposed, including the taking of alligators and elk! We advise you review all these proposed rule changes or have someone in your Club review all and report to the Club. Click here for the text of all proposed Rule changes. The rules are divided into the following categories: Wildlife management, Fisheries management, Land management, and Water safety. You can enter comments online at this website location or email your comments to the WRC via the website.



REVISIONS TO NC SPORTING DOG ASSN. WEBSITE & EMAIL FORMATS

In the next few months, we will be changing website platforms, to make it easier to update the website and connect it to our Facebook page. We will also revise the manner in which we send emails to you from the NC Sporting Dog Assn. Because of email difficulties encountered in October & November, we are moving to a more secure format that complies with industry and technology standards. Email technology allows us to communicate with you quickly and efficiently, but it has become increasingly complex. Email will no longer be free to us as we pay for services to make our emails secure. Please bear with us as we make this transition to more secure communication. We do not want to limit our email list to paying NCSDA members, because many of you are members of Clubs and Associations that are Club Members and Sponsors. However, we will eventually limit our email list to folks who have sent us an email message confirming that you actually wish to receive our emails! We will deal with this mandatory confirmation process in the spring of 2016.



In the meanwhile, thank you for your support of the NC Sporting Dog Association. To ensure that you continue to receive uninterrupted communications from us, join the NC Sporting Dog Association online www.ncsportingdog.org. As 2015 draws to a close, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Best always, Henri and Joe



Joe and Henri McClees

NC Sporting Dog Association, Inc.

PO Box 430

Oriental, NC 28571-0430

Office (252) 249-1097

Fax (252) 249-3275

www.ncsportingdog.org