New Jersey hunters will have fewer opportunities to harvest the elusive black bear (Ursus americanus) this fall.
Governor Phil Murphy (D-NJ) signed an executive order on August 20th that would outright ban black bear hunting for the Fall 2018 season. This will specifically prohibit harvesting these apex predators on any public lands that fall under the purview of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
Anti-hunting organizations like the Sierra Club and Humane Society naturally welcomed this ban on managed hunting but suggested it doesn’t go far enough.
“Although this is a step in the right direction, this executive order does not go far enough,” said Brian Hackett, New Jersey state director of the Humane Society of the United States. “We urge Governor Murphy to heed the wishes of his constituents and keep his campaign promise to end the statewide bear hunt. New Jersey’s beloved bears are neither ornaments nor rugs.”
Murphy, in a recent Facebook video, said he was eager to fulfill his campaign promises to stop this “cruel” practice. The governor’s rejection of scientific-based wildlife management practices will not only undermine the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, it will lead to more unnecessary human-bear encounters.
Perhaps the most horrific case in recent memory came in 2014 after a Rutgers University student was mauled to death by a black bear during a hiking trip. More recently, black bears have been spotted in suburban backyards and near Princeton University as recent as June.
Sierra Club has falsely claimed black bear numbers have depreciated as a justification to stop the hunt. Are black bear numbers on the decline as the Sierra Club suggests? The evidence actually points to the contrary.
The New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife notes the black bear population has grown exponentially since the 1980’s. The International Union for Conservation of Nature also puts the black bear’s status under the “least concern” category. Given their widespread reach across the country in places like New Jersey, with their population exploding in recent years, IUCN notes wildlife management agencies have encouraged hunters to help control their population growth through controlled, legal harvests over further growth and expansion.
Why do animal rights activists and Governor Murphy feel it’s prudent to protect them further, if their status as a species is not threatened?
In response to this ban, prominent conservation organizations have come out in support of New Jersey hunters.
Bipartisan members of the New Jersey Angling and Hunting Conservation Caucus of the Congressional Sportsmen Foundation (CSF) expressed their dismay with Governor Murphy.
Senator Steve Oroho, a co-chair of the New Jersey Angling and Hunting Conservation Caucus, stated “The Governor needs to put aside politics and personal feelings about hunting and look at the bigger picture. We don’t want to go back to not managing the bear population properly.”
Another caucus co-chair, Assemblyman Parker Space, said the executive order is a “self-serving attempt to placate anti-hunting extremists while increasing the likelihood that people have dangerous encounters with bears.” Managed black bear hunting, Space noted, has “effectively controlled the bear population since 2010” while nuisance and damage were also cut in half after this went into effect.
Evan Heusinkveld, the CEO of Sportsmen Alliance, said Governor Murphy is politicizing wildlife management efforts.
“We have a system for managing wildlife that is meant to keep these decision-free from politics so that the best decisions are made for the resource,” Heusinkveld stated. “The Governor’s Executive Order on bears not only tramples on the expertise of New Jersey’s wildlife experts, it does only so he can keep a campaign promise to the anti-hunting lobby.
“New Jersey is home to the highest density population of both humans and black bears. Banning hunting on public land will cause bear numbers to soar, putting people, most notably children, at risk. The last thing anyone wants to see is someone hurt or killed because a politician overruled the state’s wildlife professionals.”
He also said his organization plans to legally challenge Murphy’s ban.
“The Sportsmen’s Alliance and its partners are looking at legal options to challenge Governor Murphy’s decision to stop the bear hunt. When politicians interfere with wildlife management, it sets a terrible precedent that is not only bad for wildlife, but dangerous for public safety too.”
Heusinkveld called this move by the Garden State governor a “shortsighted and ill-advised maneuver” to overrule his own wildlife experts at the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife and the Comprehensive Bear Management Policy that was unanimously enacted by the New Jersey Fish and Game Council.
Cody McLaughlin of the New Jersey Outdoor Alliance similarly echoed these sentiments.
“It is unclear how the [NJDEP Division of] Fish and Wildlife, which has always urged adherence to the science on this hunt, feels about this move,” McLaughlin stated. “But the Fish and Wildlife Council, which has powers independent of the Governor’s office, remains in support of the bear hunt and firmly on the side of sportsmen.”
“The Fish and Wildlife Council members that are elected to represent New Jersey’s sportsmen enjoy a great working relationship with both the administration and sportsmen,” he added. “The consensus in the sporting community is that we need to bring the Governor back to the table and educate him about the science.
“The New Jersey Outdoor Alliance, for our part, is working with our conservation partners in a coordinated effort to review the authority the Governor invoked in this action and what legal footing, if any, he has. We’re confident in a positive result for sportsmen.”
There are 2,500 black bears that currently reside in northern New Jersey. If this population is not contained through managed hunts, it is estimated that the state’s bear population will double by 2022. The newly-enacted hunting ban will only further compound these problems and lead to more human-bear interactions.
What can hunters do to successfully fight this and have managed hunts restored? They need to get involved and should contact their state lawmakers to express their dismay with the Governor’s actions. Hunters should also get involved in groups like Sportsmen’s Alliance, New Jersey Outdoor Alliance, and Safari Club International to support the legal fight to help restore managed black bear hunts in the Garden State.