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On December 10th, hunters can participate in a two-day quota hunt for black bears in Harlan, Letcher and Pike counties.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011 at 8:20AM FRANKFORT, Ky. Opening day of Kentucky's newest big game season arrives earlier this year.
On Dec. 10, hunters can participate in a two-day quota hunt for black bears in Harlan, Letcher and Pike counties.
"This year the hunt occurs on the second weekend in December, rather than the third weekend as it has since 2009," said Steven Dobey, bear program coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. "Hopefully this earlier date will avoid overlap with early season snow storms and increase hunter success."
The hunt is open to any Kentucky resident who purchases an over-the-counter bear permit. Unless exempt, a person must also possess a valid Kentucky annual hunting license. This is the third year of a hunting season for bears in the state.
Dobey said past weather conditions played a major role in moving the season forward.
In 2009, a massive snowstorm limited the opportunity to bag a bruin as more than 2 feet of snow fell atop Pine and Black mountains. Likewise, access was limited last year when a snowstorm hit the three-county bear zone just days before the hunt. Despite last year's untimely snowfall, hunters recorded Kentucky’s first successful bear season by taking two male bruins on consecutive days.
Dobey said setting the structure of the bear season is an adaptive process and changes will be necessary to accomplish the desired management goals.
"We hope that by shifting the hunt to an earlier weekend, we will avoid some of the inclement weather, thereby increasing hunter opportunity- while still concentrating harvest on male bears that have not yet denned," Dobey explained.
The quota harvest is limited to 10 bears total or five female bears, whichever limit hunters reach first. Most female bears are already denned at this time of year, which will limit the number of females available for harvest. It is illegal in Kentucky for hunters to shoot any bear inside of a den. Read Full Article>>