BEAR SEASON STARTS SLOW
First-day harvest down about 30 percent
HARRISBURG - Pennsylvania Game Commission officials today announced that hunters started the 2007 black bear season by taking a preliminary harvest of slightly more than 1,000 black bears in 49 counties.
Game Commission employees processed 1,005 bears at the agency's check stations on the opening day of the three-day statewide bear season. The 2007 first-day preliminary harvest compares with 1,461 in 2006; 2,026 in 2005; 1,573 in 2004; 1,454 in 2003; and 1,348 in 2002.
"The first day harvest is down about 30 percent from recent years," said Mark Ternent, Game Commission bear biologist. "Wet snow and a spotty acorn crop surely played a role in the availability of bears and the success of hunters."
The top 10 bears processed at check stations on Monday all had estimated live weights that exceeded 500 pounds. Rodney Howard, of Port Allegany, harvested the largest bear, which was a male that weighed in at 712-pound (estimated live weight). The bear was taken in Roulette Township, Potter County, at 2:30 p.m. on Nov. 19.
Other large bears included: a 617-pound male taken by Thomas Oliver, of Palmyra, in Elk Township, Tioga County, at 10:15 a.m. on Nov. 19; a 590-pound male taken by Lavon Martin, of Fleetwood, in Toboyne Township, Perry County, at 10:44 a.m. on Nov. 19; a 587-pound male taken by Randall Lockwood, of Brookville, in Warsaw Township, Jefferson County, at 11 a.m. on Nov. 19; and a 575-pound male taken by Justin Miller, of Peach Bottom, taken in Shippen Township, Tioga County, at 10 a.m. on Nov. 19.
The preliminary first-day bear harvest by Wildlife Management Unit was as follows: WMU 1A, 2 (9 in 2006); WMU 1B, 17 (21); WMA 2A, 1 (0); WMU 2C, 120 (131); WMU 2D, 44 (47); WMU 2E, 36 (55); WMU 2F, 134 (128); WMU 2G, 257 (377); WMU 3A, 88 (143); WMU 3B, 54 (117); WMU 3C, 18 (48); WMU 3D, 48 (83); WMU 4A, 53 (70); WMU 4B, 19 (13); WMU 4C, 22 (40); WMU 4D, 83 (159); and WMU 4E, 9 (20).
The top bear harvest county in the state after the first day of season was Clinton with 78 (123 in 2006), followed by Tioga, 63 (83); Cameron, 57 (38); Somerset, 56 (67) and Lycoming, 54 (107) and Potter, 54 (95).
County harvests by region for the opening day, followed by the opening day 2006 preliminary harvest in parentheses, are:
Northwest: Warren, 51 (46); Forest, 38 (32); Jefferson, 22 (13); Clarion, 14 (18); Venango, 14 (25); Butler, 5 (8); Crawford, 1 (3); and Erie, 1 (1).
Southwest: Somerset, 56 (67); Fayette, 35 (29); Armstrong, 21 (10); Westmoreland, 19 (14); Indiana, 16 (25); and Cambria, 4 (4).
Northcentral: Clinton, 78 (123); Tioga, 63 (83); Cameron, 57 (38); Lycoming, 54 (107); Potter, 54 (95); Clearfield, 49 (80); Elk, 38 (51); McKean, 38 (85); Centre, 27 (43); and Union, 11 (19).
Southcentral: Huntingdon, 38 (65); Bedford, 29 (37); Blair, 13 (18); Juniata, 9 (7); Mifflin, 7 (27); Snyder, 5 (8); Perry, 4 (3); Fulton, 2 (10); and Franklin, 1 (3).
Northeast: Pike, 22 (34); Bradford, 16 (18); Wayne, 14 (31); Sullivan, 12 (35); Luzerne, 10 (31); Carbon, 8 (11); Columbia, 8 (12); Susquehanna, 7 (24); Monroe, 7 (21); Lackawanna, 5 (8); Northumberland, 2 (2); and Wyoming, 2 (16).
Southeast: Schuylkill, 7 (9); Lebanon, 5 (5); Dauphin, 4 (4); and Northampton, 2 (0).
Facts from the Pennsylvania Game Commission: In 1924, hunters harvested a then-record 929 bears in a six-week season. The record stood for more than 60 years.
