newjerseynewsroom.com

BY TOM HESTER SR.

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

State Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin Wednesday let it be known he will make the final decision on whether the first bear hunt in New Jersey in five years will occur.

Martin issued a statement the day after the state Fish and Game Council voted to advance its plan to hold a black bear hunt for six days in December.

"In recent weeks, I have met with council members to discuss a range of black bear issues and the need for a multi-faceted management strategy that is based on solid science and the latest research,'' Martin said. "I intend to scrutinize this proposed policy to make sure it provides the best possible solutions to the considerable challenge of managing this valued wildlife resource in the nation's most densely populated state."

A 2007 state Superior Court ruling requires the Environmental Protection commissioner to approve any Fish and Game Council policy before it is submitted for adoption in accordance with the state Administrative Procedure Act.

Public hearings would also have to be held before Martin could make a decision on a hunt.

Complaints about bears and sighting have increased since the state held its last hunt in 2005. The DEP recorded 3,003 complaints last year compared to 1,301 in 2006. Bears sightings are common in Sussex, Passaic, Warren and Morris counties.

Last week, a bear killed a pet dog in Wayne and another broke through a screened porch in Denville and killed a pet rabbit.

The state's Comprehensive Black Bear Management Policy's attempts an integrated approach to managing black bears includes research and monitoring, non-lethal and lethal control of problem bears, public education on coexisting with bears, law enforcement to reduce conflicts between bears and people, and a controlled hunt.