Commission allows bear hunting season to continue

CARSON CITY -- The state's first bear hunt will continue despite complaints by critics that legislators, the governor and the state Wildlife Commission are ignoring the overwhelming opposition of Nevadans.

On an 11-1 vote Wednesday, the Legislative Commission passed a permanent regulation that allows the Wildlife Commission annually to set a black bear hunt. Commissioners in February approved the taking of 20 bears this fall. So far, hunters have killed 10 bears.

Nevada has between 250 and 350 black bears that live mainly in the mountains east of Lake Tahoe and in surrounding mountain ranges. They do not inhabit Southern Nevada.

Wildlife biologists maintained before the season began that killing 20 bears would not reduce the bear population, which has been growing by as much as 16 percent a year. Forty-five hunters won tags to hunt bears.

At Wednesday's hearing, members of the NoBearHuntNV organization pleaded for the Legislative Commission, consisting of 12 legislators, to end the hunt. A Stateline resident, Jim Tulane, said one hunter recently ordered a woman and two girls hiking in the forest to stay away because shots could be fired. Hikers, Tulane said, have a legitimate right to be in the forest.

"The Tahoe Rim Trail and other trails are loaded with hikers," said Tulane, who said he owns 100 acres in the forest near Lake Tahoe. "I would never have bought this very expensive property if I knew there would be hunters. You can't see through the trees. This is a recipe for disaster."

State Sen. Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, voted against the hunt, expressing concern that someone hiking along the Tahoe Rim Trail could be hurt. She requested changing the regulation to stop hunting in popular hiking areas. Leslie noted a man was killed last week in Oregon by an older man who mistook him for a bear.

"Giving the population density of the Tahoe Basin, is it an appropriate area for bear hunting?" Leslie asked.

But Rich Haskins, deputy director of the state Wildlife Department, said deer and other hunting seasons have been held in the Tahoe Basin for years without a shooting injury.

He said the Wildlife Commission in February will adopt quota and rules for the next year's bear hunting season, and members could limit bear hunting in primary hiking areas. He said the agency could install more signs in forests telling people of the bear hunt.

Assemblywoman Debbie Smith, D-Sparks, questioned whether legislators could end the bear hunt. Temporary regulations allowing the hunt earlier were passed by the Legislative Commission. They expire Nov. 1.

The bear hunting season was established by the Wildlife Commission not to thin the bear population or get rid of problem bears but because hunters wanted a bear hunting season like in California and other states.

Wildlife Department biologist Carl Lackey testified at hearings that even if 40 bears a year were taken, the state's bear population would not drop.

Smith said the Legislative Commission should only decide whether the Wildlife Department has the authority to adopt regulations and whether they are lawful. In this case, they are, she said.

"It is not our job to go back to the policy debate," Smith added.

In response to Leslie's questions, Haskins admitted that only one game warden is assigned to the bear hunt areas. "Could we use more game wardens?" he asked. "Certainly. The state of Nevada is a big area."

Under the regulations, the sale of bear gall bladders would be prohibited. Bear gall bladders can fetch as much as $10,000. Bears' gall bladders are valued for their medicinal purposes in some Asian cultures.

Hunt opponents also petitioned Gov. Brian Sandoval to end the hunt. They presented him with 15,000 signatures last summer, but the governor declined to stop the hunt.

Of the 10 bears taken, six were killed in the Pine Nut Mountains, south of Gardnerville. None has been killed in the Tahoe Basin, where most Nevada bears live.

The Wildlife Department reported that none of the killed bears was a nuisance bear. Those are bears that have caused problems with garbage and at homes in populated areas. They are tagged and transported by the department back into the wild.

The hunt season ends Dec. 31, or as soon as 20 bears are killed. The end to the season could come earlier once six female bears are killed. The regulation prohibits the taking of females with cubs, but opponents questioned how a hunter even would know a female bear had a cub.

Contact Capital Bureau Chief Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901.