REGIONAL—With the days winding down in the 2017 bear season, it appears the total harvest will end up down about 20 percent over last year. That’s in line with what DNR wildlife managers were expecting, and will likely allow the region’s black bear population to increase somewhat over the next year. “This was the desired effect of the permit reduction for 2017,” said Tower Area DNR Wildlife Manager Tom Rusch.

The DNR has been seeking to lower the bear harvest in recent years to allow for a rebound in bear numbers after high harvests several years ago cut the region’s bear population in half. But the recovery has taken a bit longer than expected, in part because of significantly higher hunter success in recent years. Last year, due in part to limited natural foods, more than half of bear hunters bagged a bear in the state’s quota zone, a record success rate. This year, about 46 percent of hunters have taken a bear so far this season, with just nine days remaining.

As of Tuesday, hunters had registered 1,901 bears, which should put the final tally at around 2,000. That would be down about 20 percent from last year, but still up from the three prior years. The more important number, said Rusch, is the harvest of female bears and it looks as though the final tally will come in just under 800, which was the uppermost limit that wildlife managers believed was acceptable this year.

But not every bear zone is meeting that goal. In zone 24, which includes a wide swath of St. Louis County, south of Hwy. 1, about 44 percent of the bears registered have been female. “That’s too high,” said Rusch, who notes that the females provide the reproductive potential for the species. But unlike with deer hunting, the DNR can’t realistically switch to a male-only harvest since distinguishing between male and female bears can be difficult under typical hunting conditions.

The continued high hunter success isn’t necessarily a sign of a higher bear population, said Rusch. The DNR has significantly reduced the number of permits in recent years, and that’s translated to less competition from other hunters. “Your odds go up,” he said.