I worked for FWP for 4.5 years in Region 1...tagging bears, enforcing laws etc. The harvest isn't high at all. In fact, most of the harvest was from out of state hunters (Utah mainly). Why I don't know. I asked our regional biologist how many bears she thought were in the area. She said, "Roughly 1 per square mile". After the fact, I attended a season setting meeting and recommended a 2-bear quota, per person, per year (Like Idaho used to do). I said every Montana resident should have the opportunity to kill two bears a year (Spring and Fall Season). I was almost shouted out of the room by the Wildlife Manager. Montana has the LARGEST and most COMPREHENSIVE database on black bears in the continental United States (Why we are still taking teeth and data is beyond me). When I worked for FWP, we had a backlog of 7-10 years of teeth collected from bears at Mattson's in Manhattan...That still hadn't been processed. We are doing fine population wise...I've seen it first hand.
I love spring bear hunting in Montana. I spend 20-30 days out in the field almost every spring season.
A lot has changed over the past 20 years in region 1 and 2 when it comes to the amount of bears I see in the field as well as the amount of hunters pursuing them. There has always been certain areas that get quite a bit of pressure, but if I worked hard I could always find places others didn't want to put in the effort or risk to get to. That kind of place is getting harder and harder to find. All the best spots around me almost always have at least one or two rigs parked at the trailhead or gate pretty much everyday during May. I'm also seeing a lot less bears the past few years.
I have talked with a few region 1 and 2 biologists I had worked with in the past about the increased spring bear hunting pressure. All of them agree that it is not sustainable in the long run. Unfortunately, the overall FWP opinion these days is to kill as many bears as possible and they are told to keep a lid on their opinions.
Here is some FWP data comparing 2010 to 2022. I had these charts organized better, but when I posted it they keep getting smooshed together.
2010 Total MT Bear Tags Sold : 23,564 total 951 non resident
2022 Total MT Bear Tags Sold : 42,634 total 2,959 non resident
Difference: Increase of 19,070 hunters. 81% increase
Increase of 2,008 non resident hunters.
311% increase
Region 1 Harvest
2010: Females: 182 Males: 344 Total: 528
2022: Females: 277 Males: 472 Total: 749
Difference: Females: +52% Males: +37% Total: +42%
Region 2 Harvest
2010: Females: 116 Males: 203 Total: 319
2022: Females: 205 Males: 361 Total: 566
Difference: Females: +77% Males: +78% Total: +77%
I don't see how anyone that cares about having a healthy black bear population to continue hunting in the future, can look at the massive increases in hunter numbers and bears harvested and think that FWP's bear management system is sustainable. Almost doubling the amount of sows getting killed in 12 years is going to start dropping population numbers big time. I also completely agree with Geralds post above mine. FWP has almost ZERO understanding about what is going on with black bears in western Montana, and if they get their way with eliminating mandatory reporting, they will have even less than that.
. If you're having trouble with those yard birds maybe just focus on harvesting one of those before you go looking for bears....... Best of luck to you young man.
