Aug 17 2010
Nevada Considering Bear Hunting
We were just informed that the State of Nevada is considering introducing Black Bears onto the list of Species available for hunting. There are only an estimated 230 Black Bears in the entire state of Nevada. For Nevada to allow hunting of a species that is on the brink of elimination in the state is unconscionable. If you find this as distasteful as we do please contact the commissioners. Here is a link to the contact info for the members of the Nevada Dept. of Wildlife.
http://www.ndow.org/learn/com/members/index.shtm
Let these people know just how you feel about this idea. Please pass this information on to anyone you may know who might be interested in stating their opinion. The first reports on the issue took place on Aug. 13-14. This is only the beginning of this process and the perfect time to state your opinion. Thank you for caring for the bears.
I live in Nevada and we do have problems concerning bears, bear human encounters have doubled, however we don’t have the bear problems that California does and we want to keep it that way. Allowing 45 bears to be killed is not going to harm the population, twice that many cubs are born each year. If you don’t live in Nevada it’s not your concern on how we manage our bear population.
This is one country and bears don’t pay attention to borders. Nor do birds, fish, or any wildlife. It is therefore the concern of all citizens as to how ALL our wildlife are treated, despite the lines drawn on maps by humans. Just because there are some people who fail to understand the important role of wildlife in maintaining the health of our larger ecosystem, doesn’t mean we should silently allow them their folly.
You bear lovers are so misinformed or maybe you don’t wan’t to be informed but bears as you say are not on the brink of elimination here in Nevada, if they were the wildlife commision would not be considering a hunt. As a hunter and member of several wildlife conservation organizations I would be the first to argue against a bear hunt if I thought bears were in trouble. Bear complaints have risen in the past year, ask any resident who lives in the Tahoe basin, we even had a bear killed by a resident in Nothwest Reno earlier this year, three years ago that would be unheard of. Wildlife managment should be based on sound science, not by emotion or politics.
Reducing the number of bears has not reduced the number of bear/human encounters. It is the behavior of humans that either attracts or repels bears. And it is human encroachment into bear habitat and also the degradation of bear habitat by global warming that is increasing bear/human contact. It is very unfortunate that wildlife managers are not provided with the necessary funding to really know what the bear population actually is. What you call “sound science” is anything but. In fact, wildlife “managers” even rely on hunters to assist in determining the bear population. That’s something like asking the fox to guard the henhouse.