Woot! Just read an article that on April 18th, the state approved a second black bear tag for my region (nothing official has been posted as of yet by Fish and Game). On the good side, that means (hopefully) more meat in the freezer this fall. On the bad side, it means more competition and people stomping through the woods around here. Right now, the estimate of black bears in my region is 1.46 per square mile (highest population density in the state). The number of bears taken over the last several years hasn't decreased, and I think the decision to increase the harvest is more due to the population explosion of people moving up here since the pandemic and the significant increase in bear/human encounters. Talking with the conservation officer that came to seal my bear last fall, he thinks there will be a lot of interest in the second tag during the bait and hound seasons, but not so much during the remainder of the regular spot and stalk season (drastic decrease in interest in bear hunting from most people when not using bait or dogs).
Interesting..... I usually see bears, cubs ect every year here on the property, quite a few but nothing yet. Guessing having 2 dogs now is the cause. If ya go out, good luck! The more chili the better!
Picked up my '21 bear mount. In hindsight, I wish I had done a full rug (or at least a half mount) with this one. The bear's coat is one of the best I have ever seen (more like a spring bear than a fall one). Lots of good memories (and the meat was excellent). 260#. (Not the taxidermist's fault it took so long; I didn't get the hide to him until spring of '22 and he is very busy. Definitely worth the wait.)
