newjerseynewsroom.com

BY BOB HOLT

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

The first black bear killed in New Jersey’s five-day hunt that began Monday was a 166-pound female shot in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in Sussex County by Robert Melber of Apache Junction, Az, according to state wildlife officials.

The second bear, a 205-pound male, was killed ndependence in Warren County, by two teenagers from Wayne, Jimmy Colazzo and K.C. Abel.

The hunt ends Saturday and DEP biologists predict a kill total similar to 2010, when 592 bears were shot.

Monday afternoon, a two-judge state appeals court panel ruled members of the Animal Protection League of New Jersey could protest the hunt at the state-run bear-kill check station on Route 23 in Franklin in Sussex County. But the judges limited the number of protesters to no more than 25 and declared they can protest only from noon to 4 p.m. out of safety concerns. The Animal Protection League wanted 150 to 250 protesters allowed.

The DEP has offered to allow protestors to gather at the Pequest and Whittingham Wildlife Management Areas. An appeals court Monday was hearing arguments from the Animal Protection League of New Jersey, which wants to hold protests at the check station in Franklin in Sussex County. The DEP and local police argue highway conditions and lack of sufficient parking make the location unsafe for protests.

The hunt is being held, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection, to reduce an overpopulation of black bears in northwestern new Jersey. The DEP states the area has experienced a rising number of public complaints in recent years due to bear-human encounters. Bear-human encounters in adjoining suburban and urban communities have also been on the rise, requiring local police and Division of Fish and Wildlife interventions, the DEP maintains.

"We anticipate a safe, controlled and professionally managed black bear hunt, which is just one component of our state Comprehensive Black Bear Management Policy, DEP Commissioner Bob Martin said. "The overall goal is to reduce the number of bears to a more manageable number, while improving public safety by reducing bear encounters with people. It is our duty and responsibility to properly manage the bear population."

The Division of Fish and Wildlife is seeking to stabilize and reduce the state's black bear population, to eventually be maintained at a density that minimizes human/bear conflicts, provides for a sustainable population within suitable bear habitat, and minimizes movement of bears to unsuitable habitat in suburban and urban areas.

In addition to hunting, the black bear policy includes public education, research, bear habitat analysis and protection, non-lethal bear management techniques, partnerships with local police and animal control officers, and enhanced efforts to keep human food sources, especially household trash, away from bears to limit bear-human encounters.

A state appeals court Thursday upheld the validity of the bear policy, which enabled the hunt to begin.

North Jersey has a bear population estimates to be about 3,400 bears living in the hunting area north of Route 78 and west of Route 287. There are also an uncounted black bears elsewhere in the state, with bears spotted in every county.

Bear hunting is taking place in portions of a 1,000-square-mile area north of Route 78 and West of Route 287. This area is divided into four zones, including portions of Bergen, Hunterdon, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex and Warren counties, which are home to the majority of the state's black bears.

The hunt is open only to licensed hunters with approved permits to hunt in one of the designated zones. Only one bear of either sex may be taken by each hunter. All dead bears must be taken to one of five approved bear-check stations to be recorded and for biological testing.

Information on the numbers of bears killed Monday will be posted on line at www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/ as soon as possible after the 7 p.m. closing of the five check stations. On subsequent days, postings will occur by 8 a.m. the following morning. For information on the 2011 black bear hunt, visit: http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/bearseason_info.htm