Bear guide and outfitter Wayne Bosowicz, who is arguably the Dean of Maine bear guides, had an interesting comment recently in an interview with Bangor Daily News outdoor writer John Holyoke. “I think I’ve been in the bear business since 1964 and I haven’t seen so many bears in all my life.”

 Granted this is only one man’s opinion, but Bosowicz didn’t just get off the turnip truck when it comes to bear knowledge. Bosowicz knows what is going on in the bear woods. Although state bear biologist Randy Cross, equally experienced and knowledgeable about bears, cautions us not to jump to conclusions about bear numbers based on hunter hearsay, there is consensus that Maine’s bear numbers are up. What we don’t know is by how much. Cross’s boss, head bear biologist Jennifer Vashon, says this about bear numbers: “The bear population is increasing; we are in the process of refining our population estimate based on some additional field work that we hope to conclude this winter. Thus, I am not comfortable estimating the rate of change until this is completed. Although the field work will be completed this winter, the analysis of these data will likely take some time. I hope to have a revised population estimate by the end of next year.”

Flash forward to the end of next year. For discussion purposes, assume that Vashon’s data validates the anecdotal consensus that bear numbers are up considerably, say as much as 25 percent above the bear population of 10 years ago. This would mean that the Fish and Wildlife’s own 1999 plan to stabilize bear numbers at that current level back then was way out of kilter. Another way of saying this would be that our bear population, as a wildlife resource, has not been properly managed. No big deal, right? So who cares if Maine has more black bears per square mile than other states. More is better. Better for the bear guides and outfitters, the tourist industry and the rural Maine economy.

It’s not that simple. Like other big game in Maine, the bear, as a resource, must be looked at from three angles: biological, social and economic. Take the biological. Bears kill a lot of young deer. In fact, former deer biologist Gerry Lavigne says that, when it comes to our fawn crop, bears kill as many young deer as coyotes. In other words, part of our problem with declining deer numbers can be traced to predation by bears. Related to all of this, the Deer Task Force a few years ago considered recommending a re-institution of Maine’s spring bear hunt as a way to reduce bear numbers and help deer recovery. The idea was eventually rejected, not for biological reasons, but for social and economic ones. The fear was that a spring bear hunt would stir up the anti crowd and we’d be fighting another bear referendum. Additionally, the bear guides themselves were opposed to a spring bear hunt. Said one spokesman for the Maine Professional Guides Association, “There was an unwillingness to risk the fall hunt for whatever benefit a spring hunt might provide. With the collapse of the deer herd, the fall bear hunt is the only way left for many to keep things going. The political risk is simply too big.”

Ironically, Maine already has a spring bear hunt. It is being conducted by the Penobscots and Passamaquoddies on their tribal lands, which they have a legal right to do. Reports coming back indicate the spring bear hunt has led to a corresponding improvement in fawn recruitment on tribal lands. Hmmm. There were similar reports of deer recovery when the tribal wildlife management policies included snaring of coyotes, which our Fish and Wildlife commissioner banned on non-tribal land more than seven years ago. To their credit, not only are the tribes exercising common sense in their stewardship of wildlife, they have been adept at keeping their spring bear hunt under the radar.

Clearly, there is a lesson here.

The tribal philosophy seems to be to allow the biological goals to drive the wildlife management policies, not the social considerations or political ramifications. It used to be that way with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

We need to get back to basics.

_______________________

The author is editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal and has written his first book, A Maine Deer Hunter’s Logbook. He is also a Maine Guide, co-host of a weekly radio program “Maine Outdoors” heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on The Voice of Maine News-Talk Network (WVOM-FM 103.9, WCME-FM 96.7) and former information officer for the Maine Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. His e-mail address is paul@sportingjournal.com.