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SALT LAKE CITY — In keeping with the past several years, the Utah Wildlife Board approved a proposal to again increase black bear permits for the upcoming hunting season.
The full outline of approved changes will be released on Feb. 1 in the 2018 Utah Black Bear Guidebook, but according to a Utah Division of Wildlife Resources news release, the wildlife board approved a proposed permit increase that will likely result in about 400 bears being harvested during the 2018 season. This is a projected increase from the 2017 season by roughly 35 additional bears.
In 2017, 365 bears were harvested out of the 758 permits given and biologists project that about 400 bears will be harvested as a result of 860 permits.
The ongoing increase in black bear hunting permits is due to healthy populations in the state, DWR officials said. Since the first Utah Black Bear Management Plan was drafted in 1998, the number of bears in Utah has increased from an estimated minimum of 1,300 adult bears in 2000 to a minimum of just under 3,500 adult bears in 2016 — almost tripling in under 20 years, according to a Utah Division of Wildlife Resources news release. And those numbers don’t include cubs or bears under 2 years of age, so Utah's overall bear population is actually much higher.
The Utah Black Bear Management Plan outlines guidelines to ensure the state has a healthy and stable bear population, including a mandate that statewide, not more than 40 percent of the bears that hunters have harvested over the past three years can be females. And at least 25 percent of the bears taken over the past three years must be males that are 5 years of age or older.
Related Story:
DWR proposes additional 100 permits for 2017-18 black bear hunt
Due to a healthy black bear population in the state, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources biologists are proposing an increase to the hunting permits for the 2017-2018 season.The management plan guidelines were implemented because male bears breed numerous females, so it’s important that a bear population has plenty of females, the wildlife agency said. Also, since hunters typically target older males, the number of male bears that are 5 years of age or older provides valuable insight into how the population is doing.
Editor's note: The content of this article was taken from a press release sent out by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. This is not information gathered by KSL.com reporters.
