The Black Bears of the Adirondacks
Carrying Capacity and New York State
Black Bear Populations
The Problem of People
Human-bear conflict is usually in the form bears going through trash left unsecured by humans, although bears can occasionally attack pets or act aggressively (this is extremely rare).
“Bear populations generally exceed human tolerance levels before they exceed habitat carrying capacity”- Alex Hurst, DEC Wildlife Biologist
Managing Populations
The DEC lifted bans on hunting in some areas, lengthened the hunting seasons and others, and even proposed lifting bans on things like traps, hounds, and bait to attract more hunters (this was strongly objected to by many wildlife groups, including hunters).
Very well-know associations such as the Adirondack Council and Adirondack Mountain club have pushed the DEC to put more pressure on the public education side of their plan. Public education usually consists of things like how to secure trash and how to handle bears that may wander into the area (usually, the answer is leave them alone).
“In many cases if a bear has to be destroyed, including cubs, it’s usually the fault of humans that have been careless about leaving food out”- Neil Woodworth, executive director of Adirondack Mountain Club
Map
Public Education
Proposed Fixes
Exam Questions
2. Do humans have the right to claim territory that the bears can't have when we are the ones who forced them out of the mountains?
3. Why wold hunting groups be in favor of public education rather than looser hunting laws?