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MDNR Report

Bear Season is Around the Corner; New Population Estimates AvailableBear Season is Around the Corner; New Population Estimates Available

Michigan's bear hunting seasons are almost here, with the first opening Sept. 10 in the Upper Peninsula.

The Lower Peninsula's first season starts Sept. 14 in select areas, and Sept. 16 for remaining locations below the bridge.

Bear seasons have staggered openers with various locations and hunt periods. For each of the 2017 and 2018 hunting seasons, 7,140 bear licenses were available.

"Over half of the state of Michigan is open to regulated bear hunting," said Kevin Swanson, wildlife management specialist with the DNR's bear and wolf program. "Hunters are an important part of managing the number of bear and where they are located, and they have been part of bear management in Michigan since 1925."

Regulations governing how and when bear can be harvested are in place to sustainably manage the bear populations in the Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula regions.

The state's current statewide bear estimate is about 14,000 adult black bear - almost 11,000 in the Upper Peninsula and nearly 3,000 in the northern Lower Peninsula. Additionally, several different scientific indicators are used to help to determine the harvest recommendations.

"We don't look at just one estimate or indicator," Swanson said. "We also consider stakeholder and public input."

Bear regulations are adjusted, if needed, every two years. Future bear regulations for the 2019-2020 seasons are being discussed now, and the latest population estimates are a big part of that discussion. Estimates of bear abundance in both the Upper and Lower peninsulas have increased in recent years, especially in the Lower Peninsula.

"We have the ability to influence the growth of bear populations in remote areas of Michigan. Habitat is not a limiting factor, but social tolerance has been reached in portions of the Lower Peninsula," Swanson said. "We are discussing another increase in harvest in the northern Lower Peninsula."

Hunters who were successful in drawing a bear license for the bear management unit they chose will have a good chance at harvesting a bear, with success rates generally from 25 percent to 60 percent. Millions of acres of public land are accessible to bear hunters, though many choose to hunt on private land. A bear license can be used on either land type within a particular bear management unit.