https://www.waterburyroundabout.org/opinion-archive/hwde7a0d0wgfpmp2ez15jqhw3nqxbo

July 5, 2024  |  By Lisa Jablow 

It took a public records request sent to the Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife, but Vermonters now have a clearer picture of the 2023 bear hunt. The data that the department published in its report was incomplete, likely because the public would be unhappy to know that hunters killed cubs, yearling bears, and a large number of females. Most of the bears that are hunted each year are bears that never cause a problem with humans.

The 2023 hunt resulted in another record-high mortality rate: a total of 838 bears were killed, with 43% of them being female. This figure does not take into account: (1) bears that were killed by hunters but not reported; (2) bears killed by vehicle strikes; (3) bears killed “in defense of property;” (4) bears mortally injured but not recovered by the hunter; (5) first-year cubs that died because they could not survive after their mothers were hunted and killed.

Fish & Wildlife’s hunting data shows an alarming number of cubs who were shot and killed (approximately 47). I classified cubs as a bear who weighed 70 pounds or less (estimated to be up to a year old). The smallest bears who were hunted and killed were in the towns of Troy and Windsor and weighed just 34 pounds. The number of yearling bears — about 18 months old — that were hunted and killed is estimated to be 173 (I classified yearling bears to weigh 71-100 lbs.).

The data further shows that 364 female bears were killed. Even if only 10% of those females had two first-year cubs, that means that potentially more than 70 of those cubs also died. Cubs stay with their mothers for 17-18 months, and during this time they learn crucial life lessons such as where to den and what to eat. Unlike deer, bears have very low reproductive rates. Bear sows don’t become sexually mature until they reach about 3-4 years of age. Their ability to have litters is dependent on food supplies prior to denning.

Some might be surprised to know that Vermont’s regulations allow hunters to kill mother bears with cubs in sight. This disturbing fact became apparent after a Mad River Valley landowner’s trail camera captured a bear hunter killing a mother bear with two cubs in 2022. At least one of the cubs later died of starvation. The landowner subsequently submitted a petition to the Fish & Wildlife Board and Department to make this act illegal—tragically, his petition was denied.

Bear hounders, including those from out of state, killed 127 bears, including a 43-pound cub. In addition to the legal hunting season, June 1 marks the beginning of bear hound “training” season, making Vermont an outlier with the early start date. New Hampshire and Maine don’t start their training seasons until later in the summer. During this time, bear families are terrorized for miles by packs of hounds. This time of year bears are still trying to put on weight, and instead of being able to forage for food they are forced to waste fat reserves and hydration fleeing from hounds. During these pursuits sows are separated from their vulnerable cubs. 

When bears come into conflict with humans, it directly correlates to areas where food attractants are not secured. Bears are lured into residential areas by bird feeders, unsecured trash and other items, and no amount of hunting and killing them will stop that. 

It has been well documented in peer-reviewed scientific literature that the hunting of bears does not reduce human-bear conflicts. Researchers have found: “Human-bear conflict was not correlated with prior harvests, providing no evidence that larger harvests reduced subsequent human-bear conflicts. (Martyn E. Obbard, Eric J. Howe, Linda L. Wall, Brad Allison, Ron Black, Peter Davis, Linda Dix-Gibson, Michael Gatt, Michael N. Hall “Relationships among food availability, harvest, and human–bear conflict at landscape scales in Ontario, Canada,” (1 October 2014)).

Yet the bear hunt continues as a recreational activity for a subset of hunters, leaving in its wake vulnerable orphaned cubs and fractured bear families.

Gov. Mark Gordon announced Friday that Angi Bruce will be the new director of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, She’s the first woman to head the agency and inherits a department that is financially stable but has plenty of challenges.

Mark Heinz

https://cowboystatedaily.com/2024/07/05/wolf-torture-fallout-among-challenges-awaiting-new-wyoming-game-and-fish-director/

July 05, 20244 min read

As the first woman to direct the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Angi Bruce said she’ll make wildlife habitat a priority when she takes the helm in September.

A looming concern for Wyoming wildlife is “loss of habitat, both quality and quantity,” Bruce told Cowboy State Daily on Friday afternoon shortly after Gov. Mark Gordon announced her appointment.

“We’re seeing these effects on sage grouse, mule deer and other species,” Bruce said.

She said she’s looking forward to working with landowners, non-governmental conservation groups and others to continue Game and Fish habitat preservation and restoration projects across Wyoming.

Gordon picked Bruce from three internal finalists to replace Game and Fish Director Brian Nesvik, who plans to retire in September.

The other finalists were Rick King, chief of the department’s Wildlife Division, and Craig Smith, deputy chief of the Wildlife Division.

Bruce is now the agency’s deputy director of external affairs.

Best And Worst Of Times

She’ll take over as director during a time that is both exciting and challenging for Game and Fish.

On one hand, the agency is about as financially stable as it’s ever been. Wyoming continues to be a premier destination for out-of-state hunters. They’re willing to pay big fees for nonresident hunting licenses, which generates a large portion of Game and Fish’s revenue.

On the other hand, Game and Fish has been harshly criticized from people and wildlife advocates from around the globe for what some claim was light punishment for a Daniel man who reportedly captured, tortured and killed a wolf in February.

According to court records, Cody Roberts, 42, forfeited a $250 bond for a Game and Fish citation for illegal possession of a live, warm-blooded animal. But many have clamored for much stiffer penalties for the wolf’s cruel treatment.

There’s also ongoing controversy over whether grizzly bears should be delisted from federal endangered species protection and hunted in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.

There also are squabbles over hunter access, even as many of Wyoming’s elk herds have ballooned to far above their objective population.

Hunters claim that landowners won’t give them enough access to shoot more of the elk, while landowners say they don’t want to be pressured into just throwing their gates wide open.

Regarding the elk quandary, Bruce said she’s familiar with that sort of situation. She previously worked in wildlife management in Iowa and saw it happen there with whitetail deer.

Some plots of land became “essentially refuges” for the exploding deer population and hunters couldn’t get to them, she said.

Like whitetail, elk “are a species that can become very adaptable to human disturbances to the environment,” she said.

“They’re two very different species, but the issues are similar,” she said.

Regarding the controversies, Bruce said she’s confident that Game and Fish can continue to take a balanced approach and stay on course with its mission to conserve wildlife and serve the public.

“One thing I’ve noticed is that we never shy away from those difficult issues,” she said.

First Woman Director

Bruce has been in her current position with Game and Fish since 2019, and worked with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources for 17 years before that.

She said it’s meaningful to be selected as the first woman to lead Wyoming Game and Fish.

“I’m thrilled to represent the first female director for the department. That’s exciting. This is a very male-dominated field, it always has has been,” she said.

However, she added that her appointment in no way detracts from the excellent record of the men who previously directed Game and Fish and got the agency to where it is today.

Bruce added that she’s “honored” to set an example and be an inspiration for women and girls who are interested in careers in natural resource and wildlife management.

The Right One For The Job

Selecting from the three finalists was challenging, Gordon said in a statement released by his office.

“The Game and Fish Commission forwarded three exceptionally well-qualified candidates reflecting Wyoming’s commitment to wildlife and our natural resource heritage,” Gordon said.

“In her role as deputy director, Angi has demonstrated the department’s dedication to protecting our state’s leadership role in science and policy on wildlife issues large and small,” he added.