State study singles out black bears

I have some questions and comments after reading the Agu. 6 article in the Daily Inter Lake regarding the state black bear study.

According to the article, the last mean population estimates were done in 2011 by Richard Mace and Tonga Chilton-Radant. The estimated population of black bears was 13,307. The number of black bears killed by hunters in 2022 totalled 2,159, in 2021 the total as 1,598, and in 2020 the total was 1,457. Total black bears killed over three years was 5,214. If you figure the percent of the total estimated population of 13,307 bears and that 5,214 of those bears were killed over three years, thats 39% of the population exterminated by hunting alone. 

Colby Anton a black bear monitoring biologist with Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks says he’s excited to set quotas to get a “Balance between predators and prey.”A quote by Pat Tabor, vice chair of State Fish and Wildlife Commission says the decreased counts of ungulates is assumed to be caused by predators. Not any single predator can be confirmed. 

My question is why the black bear study? Don’t mountain lions, coyotes and other predators kill ungulates? Why are black bears being singled out? Are they a big notch on the belt of trophy hunters? 

Trophy hunters like Gov. Greg Gianforte often hunt collared animals that lead to helping count the numbers of these animals. So in the study how many animal numbers are skewed by collared animals being taken? How many out-of-state hunters are trophy hunting Montana’s black bear? 

Will Israel, the director of Montana Outfitters and Guides Association, says “Our number one focus with our association and by proxy our outfitters is the health of the resource.” How does the 39% extermination of black bears help your focus on the health of the resource? Does your association figure in the wealth of cash flow into your association and the pocket books of outfitters by proxy?

Currently, Montana allows up to 37% of black bears harvested in the spring to be sows. Most people are aware that sows have cubs in the winter in dens. In the wpring those sows come out with their cubs to forage and hunt. Sometimes sows leave the cubs in or near the den. Point being made that spring hunting of sows leaves orphaned cubs. Orphaned cubs eventually starve or are fodder for other predators including other bears. How many of the 37% of sows killed from spring hunts leave orphaned cubs? And how many orphaned cubs equate into the  black bear study?

Will Montana start allowing the baiting of black bears like our neighbor Idaho does? Remember the pamphlets that Glacier and Yellowstone parks hand out. Don’t feed the bears! It’s because once bears are fed they associate all humans should feed them. Then they become bad bears and have to be euthanized.  Game biologists have to bait the corrals to get bears to come into the barbed wire to get hair samples. It’s too bad it’s the main way to get these samples. It’s another connection for bears to get accustomed to humans.

Jane Frydenlund lives in Lakeside.