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More Bear Hunting Permits

About 15 more bears will be taken this year

Photo by Lynn Chamberlain SALT LAKE CITY — Hunters will have a chance to take a few more bears in Utah this year.

On Jan. 8, the Utah Wildlife Board increased the number of permits to hunt bears in Utah this spring and fall. Board members raised the total number of permits from 248 last year to 299 for 2008.

Based on past success rates, about 15 more bears should be taken by hunters in Utah this year.

Bear management plan

Bear management in Utah is guided by the state's Black Bear Management Plan. The three major goals of the plan—keep the percentage of female bears taken by hunters below 40 percent; keep the average age of bears taken by hunters above 5 years old; and keep the adult survival rate above 78 percent—were all met in 2007.

"We're always happy when these goals were met. And the goals have been met every year since the plan was implemented in 2000," says Kevin Bunnell, mammals program coordinator for the Division of Wildlife Resources.

"When the goals are met, we know Utah's black bears are doing well," Bunnell says. "And because the goals were met, we know that Utah's bear populations can support some increased harvest without having a negative effect on the overall population."

Bunnell says most of the additional bears will be taken in areas in northern, central and northeastern Utah where people encountered bears the most in 2007. "Taking a few more bears should help reduce the chance that people and bears run into conflict in these areas this year," he says.

Keep your campsite and cabin area clean

Even though a few more bear permits will be available in 2008, Bunnell says taking more bears is not a long-term solution to reducing conflicts between bears and people.

The solution, he says, is people doing the right things in the outdoors. He stresses that the key to preventing problems with bears is to not attract them to you in the first place.

"Not attracting bears is the key to preventing problems for you and for the bears," Bunnell says. "And it's simple to avoid attracting bears to your campsite or cabin area—don't scatter food and garbage around these areas, and keep your food in places where bears can't get to it."

Bunnell provides the following tips and advice:

	Never feed a bear. A fed bear is a dead bear!
	Keep campsites, as well as areas surrounding cabin sites and rural homes, free of scattered food and garbage. Food attracts bears and encourages them to remain in the area. Secure all of the garbage in your area, and clean your barbecue grills and store them inside a secure facility.
	Do not leave food in coolers, out on picnic tables or any place where a bear can get to it.
	When camping, store food where bears cannot reach it. Never keep food in your tent. Store food in the trunk of your car or in a bear-proof container.
	Don't keep anything in your tent that has a strong smell. This includes personal hygiene items, such as soap, deodorant or perfume. Dirty dishwater can also attract bears.
	Separate your cooking area from your sleeping area.
	Don't sleep in the clothes you cooked in or wore while cleaning fish. Leave those clothes, along with anything used to prepare, cook, eat or clean food up (such as utensils and rags) at your cooking area or sealed inside a vehicle.

More information

You can learn more about bears and how to stay safe in bear country by reading the Division of Wildlife Resources' Living in Black Bear Country brochure. — (PDF format)

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