The Empire State's black bear population continues to thrive, with increasing numbers each year. There are currently an estimated 7,500 to 8,000 black bears in the state, according to Jeremy Hurst, a big game biologist with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

In general, New York black bear harvest numbers have increased over the past two decades. Last year's harvest was 1,295 bruins, up from 1,117 in 2007.

New wildlife management units opened for bear hunting in 2008 will continue to provide hunters with expanded harvest opportunities this fall. The additional WMUs include parts of Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Erie, Wyoming, Genesee, Monroe, Livingston, Wayne, Ontario, Seneca, Yates, Steuben, Schuyler, Tompkins, Tioga, Cortland, Broome, Chenango, Madison, Onondaga, Oneida and Otsego counties.

The new regulations allow for bowhunting, regular season and muzzleloader season bear hunting in the Southern Zone. Specifically, WMUs 7M, 7R, 7S, 8H, 8N, 8P, 8R, 8S, 9G and 9H were opened for the taking of bears during the archery, regular and muzzleloading seasons.

The Northern Zone 2009 early bear season runs from Sept. 19 to Oct. 16. The archery season runs from Sept. 27 to Oct. 23. The regular season runs from Oct. 24 to Dec. 6, and the muzzleloader season is Oct. 17-23. Unfilled prior year big-game tags may be used before Oct. 1.

The Southern Zone 2009 archery season runs from Oct. 17 to Nov. 20 and Dec. 14-22. The regular season in the Catskills runs from Nov. 21 to Dec. 13. The regular season in the Allegany range runs from Nov. 28 to Dec. 13, and the muzzleloader season runs is Dec. 14-22. Season dates are the same as for adjacent units traditionally open to bear hunting in the Allegany region.

The New York big-game license includes a bear tag. The bag limit is one bear per hunter. In the Southern Zone, hunters may not take a cub, shoot any bear from a group of bears or take bears from their dens. In the Northern Zone, hunters are asked to submit part of the lower jaw or a tooth of the bear for data collection. Most taxidermists are willing to remove and submit teeth for aging.

In the Southern Zone, DEC wildlife staff prefers to examine each bear before it is skinned or butchered, but the agency does not expect hunters to wait so long for examinations that they sacrifice the quality of meat or hides.

BORDER OPTIONS
Bear sightings have been on the rise in Allegany, Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties over the past couple of decades. And hunters set a new record in the Allegany range last fall, bagging 193 bears. The increase may be because of, in part, to a healthy bruin population in northern Pennsylvania, as these animals frequently cross over into New York. Hunting close to the border between the two states is likely to increase the odds of bagging a bear in this region.

According to Timothy Spierto, the DEC's Region 9 wildlife biologist in charge of the Allegany range, areas like South Valley, Olean, Genesee, Bolivar and Alma traditionally produce good harvest numbers. A second area, consisting of rolling hills, mature forests and patches of agricultural lands in the towns of Randolph, Great Valley, Humphrey, Cuba and West Almond, is also a high producer during bear season.

"Consider hunting areas with lots of blowdowns, clearcuts and undergrowth," Spierto advised. "Bears are often found in areas where hunters least want to travel. Look up! Bears spooked by hunters sometimes tree before they come into view. At the same time, look for hard and soft mast. Apples, berries, cherries and nuts make up a large part of a bear's fall diet. Find the food, and you will increase your odds of finding a bear."