Overall Harvest Declined Slightly;
Harvest Density Greatest in Catskills
New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos
today announced that New York bear hunters harvested an estimated 1,318
black bears during the 2022 hunting season. As in past years, the
Catskill region recorded the greatest bear harvest densities.
"New York's black bear
populations remain robust, particularly in the Catskill and Adirondack
regions," Commissioner
Seggos said. "Regulated
bear hunting is a necessary tool for population management, especially
with numbers increasing in recent years. I'm pleased to see hunters
across the state logged another successful and safe bear hunting
season."
Hunters harvested an
estimated 458 bears in the Northern Zone and an estimated 860 bears in
the Southern Zone, an increase of about 14 percent in the north compared
to the previous year and a decrease of approximately nine percent in the
south. The total bear harvest was approximately 10 percent fewer than the
five-year average. As in past years, the Catskill region produced the
greatest bear densities. In Wildlife Management Units (WMUs) 3C, 3H, 3K,
3M, and 4R, hunters took more than 10 bears per 100 square miles, with
hunters taking more than 15 bears per 100 miles in WMU 4R.
|
Estimated
Bear Harvest Totals
|
|
|
2022 Total
|
2021 Total
|
Recent 5-year Average (2016-2020)
|
|
Northern Zone
|
458
|
403
|
449
|
|
Bow
|
15
|
12
|
30
|
|
Muzzleloader
|
8
|
12
|
32
|
|
Regular
|
434
|
376
|
263
|
|
Youth
|
1
|
3
|
1
|
|
Southern Zone
|
860
|
943
|
988
|
|
Early
|
234
|
100
|
213
|
|
Bow
|
348
|
322
|
347
|
|
Muzzleloader
|
4
|
23
|
13
|
|
Regular
|
274
|
490
|
408
|
|
Youth
|
0
|
8
|
7
|
|
Statewide
|
1,318
|
1,346
|
1,438
|
Notable Numbers
·
13 and 93: the ages of
the youngest and oldest hunters who successfully harvested a bear in
2022.
·
15.5: the
number of bears harvested per 100 square miles in WMU 4R (western Greene
County and portions of Schoharie, Delaware, and Ulster Counties), which
had the greatest bear harvest density of any WMU.
·
11.8: the
number of bears harvested per 10 square miles in the town of Port Jervis,
Orange County, which had the greatest bear harvest density of any town.
·
520 pounds: the
heaviest dressed-weight bear reported to DEC in 2022, taken in the town
of Windsor, Broome County, WMU 7S. Scaled weights of dressed bears were
submitted for 26 percent of bears taken in 2022.
·
612: the
number of hunter-harvested bears in 2022 from which DEC collected teeth
to determine the bear's age.
Black bear harvest data are
gathered from two main sources: harvest reports required of all
successful bear hunters; and the physical examination of bears by DEC
staff and cooperating taxidermists. Harvest estimates are made by
cross-referencing these two data sources and determining the rate at
which hunters report bear harvests in each zone. In 2022, 80 percent of
successful bear hunters in the Northern Zone and 89 percent of successful
bear hunters in the Southern Zone reported their harvest. In the fall of
2023, DEC will send a 2022
Black Bear Management Coordinator Patch and a letter
confirming each bear's age to all hunters who reported their bear harvest
and submitted a tooth for age analysis.
DEC's 2022
Bear Harvest Summary report provides tables, charts, and
maps detailing the bear harvest around the state. Past
harvest summaries are also available on DEC's website.
DEC's Black Bear Management Plan (PDF) provides
information on how DEC determines black bear population objectives
throughout the state.
|
