Nuisance bear report released

The Nuisance Bear Review Committee has been unable to scientifically link nuisance bear activity with the cancellation of the spring bear hunt, the group's report states.

Ontario Natural Resources Minister David Ramsay released the committee's report Monday, although baytoday.ca first reported some recommendations from it Oct. 24 after interviewing committee member Glenn Witherspoon.

Here is the news release from the MNR sent out Monday Nov. 10 at 4:10 p.m.:
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MINISTER RAMSAY RELEASES NUISANCE BEAR REVIEW REPORT

TORONTO — Natural Resources Minister David Ramsay today released the Nuisance Bear Review Committee report, which was commissioned last year by the former Tory government.

“The taxpayers of Ontario paid for this report and it’s essential that they have a chance to review the findings,” said Ramsay.

“Posting a report that the former government chose not to release when they received it more than two months ago underscores the McGuinty Government’s commitment to deliver open and accountable government to the people of Ontario.”

The report makes recommendations about bear harvest practices and nuisance bear management. A key finding of the report is that the committee could find no evidence of a scientific link between nuisance bear activity and the Tories’ cancellation of the spring bear hunt.

Ramsay noted that the Ministry of Natural Resources is considering the report and added that the government’s response to the recommendations will be issued in the near future.

The nuisance bear review committee was appointed in September 2002 to review the biology, literature, and geographic and socio-economic factors related to nuisance bear problems in Ontario.
To view the report of the nuisance bear review committee, click here.

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The following recommendations are excerpted by baytoday.ca from the 'Executive Summary' of the just-released report:

Recommendations Dealing with Harvest Management

The Committee endorses the work being done by the ministry in its investigation of province-wide application of sustainability criteria, harvest allocation system and outfitter training.

The Committee recommends that the ministry consider implementing a Harvest Management System, with the following elements:

1. Mandatory reporting by all hunters of harvested bears to include sex (proof of sex) and location of kill.

2. Collection of a premolar from all bears harvested by WMU, to allow a more precise monitoring of age structure, an important indicator of harvest pressure.

3. Development of enforceable sustainable harvest guidelines for black bear, including overall maximum harvest level and proportion of females in the harvest.

4. Devise an equitable system of allocation among resident hunters, non-resident hunters and trappers at the WMU level, including a review of harvest by trappers.

5. A mandatory requirement that every bear hunter and guide attend a provincially standardized bear hunter education course addressing methods of sexing, methods of assessing female bears for reproductive status, and other components of
biology and behavior allowing selection of appropriate animals for harvest.

6. A five year post-implementation review of the Harvest Management System to assess effectiveness, determine if the goals and objectives are being met and what, if any, changes are necessary for maintaining sustainability of the black bear population in Ontario.

7. The Committee recommends that MNR continue to investigate tools for monitoring the status of the bear population (such as the Black Bear Population Index and genetic monitoring), to obtain better information on which to base management decisions thereby ensuring sustainability of the population.

8. The Committee recommends that the ministry communicate widely the importance of reporting bears killed in defense of property. This information could be used in obtaining a better picture of nuisance bear activity as well as contributing to information on the sustainability of populations.

Recommendations for Further Research on Variation in Nuisance Bear Activity

1. A standardized approach should be developed to collecting data on complaints about nuisance bears in all MNR districts including number of calls, number of traps set, number of trap nights, number of bears relocated, number of nuisance bears killed and possible causes of the complaint such as presence of attractants. Such information should be compiled annually in each region from reports submitted by each district. This will enable meaningful comparisons of nuisance activity across districts and among regions and will enhance the interpretation of annual variation in nuisance bear activity.

2. Since the Wildlife Food Survey data from the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence ecoregion was so useful to this analysis of the relationships among nuisance activity, food availability, and harvest, a Wildlife Food Survey should be developed for the Boreal east ecoregion and the Boreal west ecoregion and implemented as soon as possible. Data from such a survey will enhance the interpretation of annual variation in nuisance bear activity in the Boreal ecoregions.

3. Future analysis should attempt to uncover large-scale weather patterns that might be used as explanatory or predictive variables to enable MNR to better understand variation in nuisance bear activity.

Recommendations Dealing with MNR’s Role in Nuisance Bear Management

1. MNR should assume the lead coordinating role in prevention of conflicts by promoting a Bear Hazard Assessment program (including providing seed money to municipalities) similar to the program in British Columbia. Arrangements should be made with municipalities appropriate to the situation, since some
municipalities are already moving in this direction.

2. The Bear Hazard Assessment program should stress the removal of attractants and consideration should be given to legislation prohibiting the feeding of bears, outside of the practices surrounding lawful hunting activities.

3. In order to address inconsistencies and confusion regarding MNR involvement with municipalities, MNR needs to establish clear policies on the handling of nuisance bears and take the lead to engage all municipalities in proactive
approaches.

4. MNR should conduct a critical evaluation of the trapping and relocating of bears to review the efficacy of this approach. Specific guidelines should be developed to determine when this is an appropriate solution.