John Lehmkuhl: Wildlife management principles inform bear hunting controversy

By John Lehmkuhl

Why hunt black bears in the spring? The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission has wrestled with this seemingly simple question for more than a year.

Simple it is not, as judged by more than 30,000 public comments submitted to the commission during 2021-22. Many bear hunters believe this prime hunt is sustainable and proper, and are loath to see it changed. Opponents believe it is bad game management and unethical to hunt bears in the spring.

Customarily, this hunt has been held to address black bear management issues, such as timber damage, predation on deer and elk calves, or human-bear conflicts. More recently, the hunt has evolved into a recreational sport hunt that secondarily addresses those management issues. That change in purpose from management to sport is the heart of the controversy.

The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation provides one framework for examining this and other game management issues. The model was first developed in 1995 to describe the vital role of hunters in initiating and sustaining wildlife conservation in the 20th century, and it has become a cornerstone of conservation within the hunting and wildlife management community. Of the model’s nine tenets, three directly relate to spring hunting of black bears: wildlife as a public trust, science as the foundation for management and legitimate use.

The public trust doctrine is based on common law and asserts that wildlife is owned by the public. As such, the public is the beneficiary of the trust, and state management agencies are trustees. The model initially described the legitimacy and contribution of hunting to conservation, so hunters believe that their stake in the public trust is paramount. Opponents of the spring bear hunt believe that their stake in the public wildlife trust is equally valid.

Science is the cornerstone of wildlife management in North America.

One of the main science issues around spring bear hunting are the killing of female bears and the consequent death of their dependent cubs. In recent years, about 120 black bears in Washington have been killed annually in the spring hunt, of which about one-third are female. Females breed every other year, so half (20) of those females are expected to have from 1-3 cubs born during winter hibernation. Accounting for some unsuccessful breeding, perhaps 15 females harvested during the spring hunt had cubs, which equates to about 30 dead orphaned cubs. Hunters claim that number is too high because they purposely do not harvest sows with cubs; but there is little reliable data to support that claim. Bear biologists say that it is very difficult to sex black bears in the field and to reliably confirm the presence of cubs by sight or by nursing status of solo females.

Another of the scientific issues is the effectiveness of recreational hunting to resolve management issues. Data to prove or disprove the spring hunt’s effectiveness simply have not been collected in Washington.

Legitimate taking of wildlife is a cornerstone of the model but often difficult to define. Prohibiting waste of harvested game is a simple application of the legitimate-use tenet. In the case of spring black bear hunting, defining legitimate use is value-laden and more difficult. Bear hunters claim the hunt is entirely consistent with legitimate use because the number of bears killed is low (i.e., sustainable) and incidental cub deaths are small; whereas, opponents disapprove of any spring hunting and claim that the incidental death of any cubs violates the legitimate-use tenet.

A 2019 national survey commissioned by the National Shooting Sports Foundation found that 80% of the public approve of legal hunting, but only 20% support spring bear hunting. Only eight, including Washington, of the 42 states that have black bears recently offered a spring hunt.

The question of spring black bear hunting is a sticky issue that involves the public trust, science and legitimate use. It is not a new issue.

Spring bear hunting was controversial in Colorado during the 1990s with the exact same pro and con arguments. There, the issue was solved by a public initiative that completely banned spring bear hunting.

The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission decided by a 5-4 vote in November to disallow recreational sport hunting for black bears in the spring while allowing for well-planned and monitored management hunts by recreational hunters to resolve documented issues. Yet, the controversy continues as the commission receives new petitions to revive spring sport hunting of black bears.

John Lehmkuhl, of Wenatchee, is a member of the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission. He is a lifelong hunter, fisherman and conservationist with a 40-year career as a professional wildlife scientist. This article represents his views, not those of the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission or Department.