A growing Wi bear population?

Is it just me or does it seem like the bear population is on the rise? I'm in West Central Wisconsin. We have property on both sides of the county and they seem to be showing up more often (and more of them) every year.

Which county, Chippewa south for 64 is due to late season open and dnr wont change due to labor day. Issuing more tags is not the answer. The last couple years have been tough to harvest as well, acorn crop drop large and early, corn silking, various natural foods in abundance. Once they switch to protein from carbs it hard. So yep when you consider harvest numbers and the size of zone C. It is growing fast.

Almost as many bears as deer here.

More than likely there will need to be a real major look and potential change in harvest management when bears become more common in our more crop productive areas of WI which have huge food supplies along with good habitat for bears. The social carrying capacity for bears in these farm and populated areas will drive the population goals in the future. Also the wild or natural food supply is larger as well.

Bryce

Good comments above.

Here's my take: I think Wi should legalize foot snares for bear. I'm referring to like the Belisle version. We can use 'em for yotes & cats. Bear would take the larger size. It could be limited so that a trapper can only have 1 bear trap out (so no one would have to release a bear). Trappers would apply in the same drawing hunters apply for. I have heard of no issues with the current foot snares being used in Wi. I don't see what would hurt to allow them for bear trapping. I suppose they could even use a sort of deer stop to allow cubs to self release. I see no down side.

I don't think managing bear numbers in WI is a methods issue as much as it is what is the allowable harvest for the desired population goals. Also some thought needs to be put into managing bear numbers in the heavily populated southern areas with much less public land which makes the use of hounds less of a viable option.

Bryce

Black bear populations are on the rise pretty much everywhere except those wild places where there was never a decline due to humans. States are implementing black bear recovery plans without regard for human/bear conflicts that will ultimately result. Here in southwest Va a 17 mile section of the Appalachian Trail through the Mt Rogers National Recreation Area is now closed to overnight camping due to bear problems. The source of the problem? The VDGIF plan to promote an increase in the black bear population. Since the late 1980's 210 black bears have been relocated and released in the Mt Rogers area in order to accelerate the population recovery. So now we have a population of black bears that were a problem elsewhere or are the progeny of bears that were a problem elsewhere. No hunting over bait, no hunting with hounds, no trapping of bears allowed but VDGIF is working on deciding what to do. We are screwed.

Neighbor showed me a trail cam video today that appeared the other day next to my land. 2 bears were wrestling. Is that unusual? This was not at a bait station, just a cam he set up for deer. The rise in bear numbers seems obvious, with no scientific study required to confirm it.

I talked with a friend Friday that owns land in southern Jackson Co along the Black River. He has had over a dozen different bears on his cameras this year since spring.

Bryce

Bear wrestling around or establishing dominance is not unusual.

Very common in my area, I live in town on the Mississippi River, don't go in the woods anymore without a handgun

I've heard of a lot of people that had bears coming in, but not many that have shot 1.

Well one of the ways to insure a growing bear population is to be very, very selective in what you want to harvest. More larger males harvested and maybe more permits not filled due to not wanting to harvest a mid 100 lbs. bear. Which keeps more breeding females in the population.

Bryce

Here in Lower Michigan we have had an increase enough that a season has been opened in the Mid-State area(Midland Co.).

We have even had some road kills.

Wisconsin, like it's sister state, Michigan, are two burrs in a hounds tail as far as the basic landscape. Our southern counties, with only a few exceptions, are much more fertile than the northern counties. The soils are better, and the climate is a little better for growing crops...wild or man-planted, and the result is that the carrying capacity of the habitat is higher. This refers to deer, bear, 'coons, or people. Southern Michigan's rise in bear numbers will mirror southern Wisconsin's......these areas will support vastly higher numbers of bear simply because the habitat is better. People are the only thing holding back a huge growth in bear numbers. People will tolerate only so many bears, especially uneducated urban/sub-urban people with no experience with bear. My area has never been without bear, yet time after time I had down-staters walk in my showroom and act flabbergasted when I said the mounted bear were shot locally....."what? There are bear around here" Oh man, wish I didn't know that!". The southern reaches of our two states are perfect bear country....great natural foods, greater man-planted foods, plus lots of woodlots and swampy areas to den and hang out in. What more could a bruin ask for? Well, except to be left alone.

WI has several major river valleys and flood plains that make great travel lanes from north to southwest for many species including black bear. We also have several fairly large wooded wildlife areas in the 3k to 15 K acre range which once species get situated in these areas they will be here to stay. As stated above biological carrying capacity in the wooded farmland areas of WI, MN, MI is very large, much larger than the social carrying capacity. The northern 1/3rd or 1/4 of WI will always be a place where species can find enough security and food to produce the numbers to keep migrating south. Just look now at the majority of residential Canada Geese here in sourthern WI that never even bother to migrate anymore.

Bryce

So what if we had a spring season? Split up the hunters. You either apply for spring or fall hunt. Less baits per sqaure mile. Especially on public land.

If you ask me our bear population is way to high here. When I was a kid it was a special event to see one. Now they are everywhere. Had a dozen different bear hitting baits this year right behind my home. Can't go through a dozen deer trail cam pics without seeing bear.

You got that right about the harvest. Baits turned to crickets as soon as the acorns hit the ground.

I haven't heard of many successful bear hunters this year but maybe I'm not talking to the right people. So often I hear people say they had 'em coming in UNTIL season started

How about opening a hunting season during the 9 day gun season like they had long ago. Could do it like the old days with party tags but have the listed participants printed on the tag and make it a separate draw for the tags from the regular seasons tags. The DNR do the draw after bear season and just allow the unfilled quotas as a guide to the numbers given. All bears need to be registered before the start of deer season and it would just be another tool in the DNRs management plan. No bait no hounds.

Just a thought

Or the Bears were coming in until they knew the hunter was in the tree, I think the acorns dropping becomes an easy excuse rather than a major factor, maybe all bait stations should be placed under oak groves. Natural forage is always a contributing factor but so is: stand selection, wind direction, bait selection and scent.

I always set my baits up with emerging food sources in mind, corn, oaks, berries. Stands are set in clumps of trees and moved year to year. Planning ahead year or two in advance is good. Wind I have never concerned myself with much. Stands are set with SW prevailing winds but I don't believe it matters much. I believe bears know your there, they circle, enter the area leave and return. Sometimes takes a couple visits. Bernie B suggested this year to have a higher nut ratio for bait as season approaches. I used some trail mix with nuts and added cashews for more mix. Also when bears are full they still check scent out. Mix scents, sweets to strong, .

I ran two baits in North Central WI, I had 1 sow w 3 cubs, 1 sow w 2, 2 sows with 1 cub. Two dry sows for sure. Growing you bet.

I know 2 guys personally from Iowa that tagged out. Bigger one was 440 pounds.

Interesting thread,especially since our DNR's own studies show bears increasing across the state,but there's rumblings from the Dept.about cutting back on licenses sold.

While I appreciate that bankrunner, I know many that are eating tags. Dog hunters are doing well, walking corn fields now with good success.

Our PA bears are managed by their social carrying capacity, which is lower than our natural carrying capacity. We have too many people that live in bear country that don’t like their garbage and bird feeders destroyed. Our season was typically 3-4 days before thanksgiving. This mostly protects pregnant sows, as they are usually denned up by then. A couple years ago, our estimated population hit 20,000. PGC instituted a 1 week muzzleloader season in mid October which was overlapped by a 3 week archery season. After 2 years of these extra seasons, our population is now estimated at 16,000. Reason being, the 3 week early season does not protect our sows. Sows reproduce every other year. I’m guessing our early seasons will be shorter next year. I believe the way to control bears is in the way ya manage the sows.

Welcome to the political agenda of the Minnesota DNR. Hopefully there are more common sense individuals involved in your policy decisions than we have.

Osky

I had a wise large bear on bait last year. Talk about circling. I found a light trail perpendicular about 200 yards off the stand one side of the trail. Bear came up then turned back when hunted.
After 3 no show nights. 4th day I took the hunter in at baiting time just before noon, past that trail intersection riding the atv nearly to the bait then hustled him up the stand to wait quietly the afternoon.
The big bear crossed the walk in/atv trail that evening and came in to be harvested at 6:35. As clean as that walk in trail was the bear was picking up the hunter walking in at 3:30-4:00 and it was an old flat logging trail there, no side brush involved just hard sand ground. I’d had the guy even using rubber bands to hold his pant legs from dragging.
When people say the bears quit hitting the bait when hunted, bears are simply busting the hunter. The wind, the scent on the walk in as above….noise. I back track trails at baits after season to learn and at least where I am at bears on a good bait that holds enough food to keep them happy will be holed up during the day a lot closer than people think. Hearing any sort of vehicle they are not used to towards evening puts them off same as hunter smells and other things. Hearing is crazy good for them.
Interesting to me as well is the big boars in the roughly 350-550 lb range are the most cagey. The bigger boars than 550 which I’ve seen and some taken at times come plowing in with seemingly no worry. They could however be doing all the precautionary foreplay just out of sight? The jumbos are not shy about piling right in at the bait.
These are some of my observations from the heavy bush of Northern MN. Different areas bears certainly act differently.
I never use sweets.

Osky

Sows with first year cubs are off limits. Releasing a full grown sow with cubs nearby would be a nightmare!

I'm in Sheboygan Co, there were bear sightings this summer and one hit and killed on the road.
One also hit and killed in Waukesha Co this summer.

It was a rare event for one to be seen this far south, now its a every spring/summer thing.

how much longer before they are full time residents I don't know.
But I'm willing to bet it'll happen.

I've got some friends back there that hunt them with dogs. Just hunting weekends and a week or so of vacation they are catching 40-50 a year (including training season). So there is a decent population where they are hunting. Adding additional methods of take (such as footsnaring) isn't going to affect the population because the harvest numbers are regulated by the limited amount of tags they give out. Those friends of mine there usually harvest three or four a year, by having friends and family put in for tags, because it takes years to draw a tag. If the Wisconsin DNR wants to lower the population they will have to increase the tags given out.

I hunted Wisconsin during those days.

I recall that as well. I remember too Minnesota had a bounty on bears when I was really young, my father spoke of it. Bears were able to be killed year round I believe.
Edit: I am not however as old as White17 and was not around for the bear migration across the Bearing Sea land bridge.

Osky

They definitely are expanding their range.
Buddy on the Kenosha/Racine County line had one on his trail camera a few times, with one showing it stalking a doe and fawn.
It's been dubbed the 'Wheatland bear "

I don't know when they dropped the tag system in WI where you could shoot a buck deer or a bear, but there were two large groups from my home county of Jackson that hunted in the Winter Draper area along the Thornapple River and I know at least a couple seasons there were one or two hunters who harvested bear during those seasons. One person got a bear two seasons in a row. That was the first time I ever saw a black bear when they came back from their camp. One was sizable, I don't remember the weight but they weighed him at the local feed mill. Lot of people dropped by to see the bear. This was the late 50s and through the 1960s if I remember correctly.

Bryce

That political agenda was driven by input from the public. People complaining about too many hunters disturbing their QOE. Instead of managing the wildlife the DNR is more interested in managing people it seems.

I am not a bear hunter but if I was I'd be glad that I reside in the no quota zone.

Oh and I don't think anyone is as old as ole White17. Well except for maybe the beav. I don't know if the beav saw the land migration but he for sure sat behind George Washington in the 6th grade.

True. I'm not sure how Maine handles that issue.

I have never seen a bear during gun season in my life. And we cover a lot of ground!


That would be another good money generator for the DNR with virtually no affect on harvest!

I'm all for increased bear harvesting opportunities, but never has my family seen a bear during gun deer season. Well I guess a distant cousin did one time.

Last time out in my ground stand, a sow behind a tree and I played peek-a-boo for 45 minutes at 80 yards. When her curiosity was satisfied, she ambled up over the top of a hill and gone.

During gun season?

Some don’t den deep. Our deer season is in November and in this area they are snoozing by then, food is gone.
My father crossed a laid down bushy spruce many years back while deer hunting and a bear came out from under. Another time in the late seventies deer hunting we found about a 200 lbr curled up and sleeping at the base of a large red pine, no cover at all. He moved somewhere a couple of days later. I also found one on a brutally cold morning late November maybe ten years ago end of deer season. He was curled up against the back side of a hummock/hump along a trail I was walking. Standing there I saw the light puffs of steam/breath rise up every so often that gave it away. That bear also had moved on when I checked it a couple of days later.
Even in the dead of winter in deep snow you can find bear tracks leading off somewhere, I’ve no clue what prompts them to do that.

Osky

North Central WI, see bears almost every year during deer season. Not just I but my family. It's cool to see one in the white snow. When we're doing small pushes we bump them. And of course with warm seasons we see them foraging.

Over the course of 45 years of deer hunting I have seen 10 bears total during gun deer season. The bears have grown in population considerablly IMO since the 60's.

Chris

Just talked to someone yesterday who had a bait in Zone C and had 11 different bears visiting it regularly.

We see bears foraging or pushed out front of a drive almost every year. I think with the opportunity some would be surprised at the numbers that could be taken during the 9 day deer season.

Yes BrvRetriever it was the Monday of deer gun season. Thought it was cute, her hugging the tree, peaking her head around ... then stepping out from behind the tree on her hinds for a better look. I'd shuffle a bit and she would be back behind the tree. After 45 minutes of this, she must of figured I wasn't any kind of threat or loss interest and moved on.

Well then I guess maybe a bear season during gun deer season might go over ok if it ever passed

I doubt a special bear season would pass. Never know though.

Bernie, Shot mine in zone C, ran two baits on our property, had a sow with 3 cubs, sow w 2 cubs, 2 sows with singles, also two dry sows on baits. Nor shortage of bears currently or in the future. Lots of baiters, not hunters necessarily.

Bear baiting sounds like a lot of work & $, with a low success rate based on baiters I've talked too. I may try it someday, we'll see. It sounds interesting. It would be cool to get 1, though I don't know if I'd want to do it every year.

Watch out you'll probably get addicted like the rest of us. It's a lot like trapping. Much of the same appeals to it.

True Bernie. AJE your state makes it tougher than ours in what you can legally use for bait.
To me the greatest aspect of baiting is wether you use the dirt around the bait for tracks, cameras, or both you can adjust what your doing to get the mature bear you want. Easy to pass on lesser/unwanted bears. Sometimes quit the bait if overrun by sows and cubs or use that bait as a decoy to keep sows and cubs off other baits. Bernie is right it’s like trapping in its options.
Note AJE while your state is tougher with baiting restrictions than ours, your state allows hound hunts. A great way to get after them and a great means of being selective in the harvest.

Osky

For the Love of God!!