Bob Radocy: Spring bear hunting

A recent editorial by Erika Stutzman, “Bears in Springtime”, makes some valid points related to bear human interactions and to the damage that bears can do to livestock, residences, etc. The bear population is Colorado has indeed expanded since bear hunting restriction legislation was passed, via a public initiative process in the early 1990′s. That legislation restricted the bear hunting season eliminating much more than just spring hunting, by also eliminating hunting bears with dogs and over bait. CDOW statistics  now indicate that the bear population is at least 20% larger than it was in the early 1990s. Bears have never been in danger of a population crises in Colorado nor are they now. Bear damage and bear depredation kills are higher now than in the 1990s due to the increase in their population. Hunters prefer to see wildlife management kept in the hands of the specialists, like wildlife biologists at the Colorado Division of Wildlife. Organizations like the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) can never be relied upon to give you honest facts and they have a history of purposively distorting wildlife management issues using “emotional”  arguments that favor their positions. The Stutzman article does itself a disservice by referencing the HSUS for any data. The reality is that there are more bears in Colorado now and that more bears are being killed by hunters under carefully regulated seasons and quotas. A lot more bears are having to be killed as well for depredation. Hunting bears ethically does not take a “toll” on their population. Hunting bears helps keep the bear population at a manageable level. Bringing the authority of managing the bear seasons back to the Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) and the Colorado Wildlife Commission (CWC) makes solid sense and is the right thing to do to ensure that bear populations in Colorado are managed properly and equitably. The legislation forced upon the CDOW, the CWC and hunters in 1992 had no basis in scientific research. The legislation was passed due to a lot of money spent by groups like the HSUS on misleading advertising about the true state of bear hunting in Colorado. Hunters are not advocating that we go back to a total, pre-1992, bear hunting scenario but we do believe that wildlife like bears should not be managed by the public at large.

Bob Radocy
Boulder