Why It Matters: Black bear management in Oregon is a current success story with the population showing steady growth and variety in age classes represented. In spite of the demonstrated success, groups who oppose the hunting of charismatic megafauna and predators made an effort to end spring black bear seasons at a recent ODFW Commission meeting. Thanks to strong science and population data presented by the Department, along with the hunting community’s support, the season was renewed for 2025 in Oregon by a unanimous affirmative vote.
Highlights:
- Black bear populations are thriving and growing in Oregon State where the population is currently estimated at 44,000 bears.
- The sporting-conservation community in Oregon banded together to protect their heritage from emotionally driven arguments that had no basis in science.
- After a long hearing, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission voted unanimously to approve the science-backed 2025 hunting seasons proposed by ODFW.
The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission held their regular meeting on Friday, September 13, 2024. On the agenda for this month’s meeting were revisions to the upcoming 2025 hunting seasons, including spring bear hunting seasons. The Commission received a thorough presentation on ODFW’s big game process, general regulations, and 2025 hunt proposals with a species-by-species population status report. During their black bear presentation, ODFW staff acknowledged that they had received an overwhelming amount of public correspondence about black bear management, including a few thousand email correspondences in the week leading up to the Commission meeting.
Included in the flood of verbal testimony and email correspondences were concerns from members of anti-hunting organizations that opposed the spring season saying that it violated fair chase rules, claiming that bears are lethargic and prone to risky behavior when leaving their dens in the spring due to extreme hunger after hibernation. This claim was rebutted by ODFW as meritless, citing bear behavior during winter den checks as an example of their resiliency during and after their prolonged torpor state. In addition to the stated resiliency of black bears, ODWF shared a population estimate of 44,000 bears statewide with a median harvested age of 4 years old. In fact, ODFW noted increasing bear populations in each management zone, predicting future growth despite current harvest levels through existing fall and spring hunting seasons. With department modeling showing sustained growth, ODFW proposed a 2% hunting tag increase and the creation of a new youth hunt to offer sporting opportunities while allowing ODFW to meet their overall wildlife management goals.
The sporting community, including members of the Oregon Sportsmen’s Conservation Partnership, joined together in written and verbal testimony to support ODFW science and hunting heritage in the state. Support for the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation was evident throughout the testimony and helped to strengthen the data presented by ODFW. After some time spent deliberating and asking clarifying questions, the Commission voted unanimously 6-0 in support of black bear hunting seasons, including spring hunting seasons thanks in part to the supportive efforts of the Oregon Sportsmen’s Conservation Partnership and sporting community.
