Mich. bear mismanagement plan...our last chance to fix it

[rich h]

One of my dog hunting friend's has had extensive communications with DNR wildlife officials lately. They claim bear are spreading rapidly into the lower part of the state and the population in the lower peninsula is big and getting bigger. In the U.P they claim it has either slightly declined or held steady. If you're buying that don't bother reading the rest of this!!!!

My dog hunting friend has a background in statistics and has studied the DNR's harvest statistics over the past several years and found the DNR has been keeping bear kill numbers up by increasing kill tags (as the bear population declines). Besides that bit of dishonesty (spin) the DNR's own management plan admits...when the bulk of the harvest is made up of 3 to 4 year old bear and younger it means bear numbers are in serious decline because the breeding stock is being killed off. Anybody hunting the U.P. knows most bear currently being harvested are 3 to 4 years of age or younger.

The DNR is in the final phase of this "mismanagement plan" with 5 scheduled meetings across the state coming up soon....offering bear hunters an opportunity to express their opinions and hopefully overpower the BS they're putting out. There is a chance the bait sitters won't bother attending these last meeting figuring they already won.

Here's the meeting schedule. Hope you and your friends are willing to fight back:

Mon. Jan 26 _ 6:00 to 8:00pm EST at the Comfort Inn in Newberry, Mi

Tues. Jan 27 - 6:00 to 8:00pm EST in Crystal Falls, Mi at the Township Hall

Tues. Feb 3 - 6:00 to 8:00pm EST at the Carl T. Johnson Hunting & Fishing Center East M-115 in Cadillac, Mi

Wed. Feb. 4 - 6:00 to 8:00pm EST at the Hillamn Rec Center 24220 Vets Memorial Hwy
In Hillman, Mi

Thurs. Feb. 5 - 6:00 to 8:00pm EST at the Best Western Midway 7711 W. Saginaw, Mi

[Nolte]

Rich,

Is there any way an out of stater can send an email to them on this topic. We were up there a few years back and the bear population was dismal, even though the habitat was outstanding.

[rich h]

Nick,

My sincere thanks for your concern. Here's an email address I got off the DNR website:
dnr-wld-wild@michigan.gov you can address it to Adam Bump, DNR Bear Biologist

you can also access the DNR website via google. Just type in Michigan DNR
Once you're on the site, look at the column in green and click on "hunting & trapping once the new page opens you can access the bear management plan. You might find it interesting.

A little head's-up, in case you're not already aware...I'm told the tetracyclene bear count method is no longer accurate. My information has it, bee mites have wiped out honey bees. For beekeepers to protect their bees they have to dust frequently with tetracyclene. In turn, this reportedly finds its way into honey and from there bears test positive for tetracyclene when they consume honey or get around bee hives. Admittedly, I do not have all the details and am just repeating this second hand...but, I see it as a cause for concern...especially if Wisconsin is basing their bear numbers on that method of counting.

Hey Nick,

Kind of sad a bear hunter from Wisconsin is concerned enough to follow up...and the Michigan guys on here have not bothered to respond.

[Nolte]

Bee mites huh, If the WI DNR reads that it, they will jack up the tags even more. I'm glad they did raise the amount given out, but I hope they don't over do it. I don't know exactly where that line is. There is a big difference in the amount of bear vs the amount of bear in areas where a guy can hunt without getting his ass chewed.

I'm all for harvesting bears, in fact there isn't much more I'd rather do in the fall. But I don't like the setup that a guy has to have a kill tag to run his dogs during kill season. You've either got to hunt/apply with a lot of people, or take any random joe blow out to get him a bear. If I didn't have a tag, I'd rather be able to just run one around for fun. I've got no problem sleeping in and finding the 3 inch pad scrap runners and letting the guys with tags go after a big one.

Good Luck with getting your side heard on the bear issue in MI. I'll shoot an email out this week.

[jeff]

Hey Nick,
Kind of sad a bear hunter from Wisconsin is concerned enough to follow up...and the Michigan guys on here have not bothered to respond.

Hey Rich I did my part and sent one out, but you already no that, hopefully others will get involved also. Brandi and I will also be at the Feb. 4th meeting in Hillman, MI. Rec Center

Thanks for getting this info out their for all to see Rich,

[bear dogger]

Thanks for the information.The Mi. D.N.R. has been doing a very poor job managing wildlife in our state period. The bear population has been on the decline for several years as evidenced by lack of tracks and activity when out looking, the guys in charge say other wise. They seem to have a vendetta against hound hunters. I can not make the meeting dates but will e-mail and encourage others to do the same.

[rich h]

Bear Dogger,

Six of us attended the bear management meeting in Crystal Falls yesterday. The DNR is hearing it loud and clear, bear numbers are down. There is a 100% agreement from the bear management group, guides need to be licensed and regulated. The DNR response on the outcry over the dismal bear numbers is, maybe their "model" is wrong maybe they should take another look. Many of us are concerned about the large commercial baiting operations with an unlimited supply of clients. They focus on areas with a road system, making it easy to maintain a long line of baits. At every bait site they expect exclusive hunting rights to roughly 1/4 square mile surrounding it...then they whine about dog men running bears off their baits. In reality, they have too many baits in areas heavily traveled by other users. Bottom line here...nobody has the right to exclusive use on public property. If they have a problem of other users being in
"their place" they need to seek out a more secluded hunting place, or lobby the DNR to reduce tags to thin out the hunting pressure. Instead they resort to the old worn out complaint, "a dog hunter ran my bear off."

It was also brought up, our public recreational land is like a tax-free zone for unknown business' making an average of $1,000 to $1,200 per hunter per week. The DNR, by not enforcing the Special Use Permit Requirement...means there is no process requiring they report the income they rake in on our black bear. These operations have an 80% success rate or better on bear. State wide average hunter success is less than 18%!

This is not the vast wilderness of states like Idaho and we only have so much carrying capacity for business' preying on our resources.