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Show NOVEMBER HUNTING UTAH’S BEARS Is It Sport or Is It A Shame? Continued from page 11 bread, covered with a syrupy mix made from a five pound bag of have to hunt them and control them, so they don’t overpopulate.” brown HUNTING WITH A CAMERA As a kid, Brad Garfield was fascinated with bears and read every book he could get his hands on about them. “I’ve had a life-long interest in looking at and learning sugar — a giant, sugary cin- namon roll.” “I mount most of the animals I kill, because they are of record book quality,” Smith claims. Smith says there should be more sport hunting for bears.”Only a small percentage of the population is taken each year... Anti-bear hunters are all full of emotion and are illogical irrational. We have to control about them,” Today, he says. Garfield is publisher of 1995 and affection along with fear to a manageable level, in order to co-exist with bears. We should expand and preserve their habitat. It’s a shame what has happened to them in the lower 48 (states).” But scientific knowledge need not be gained by violently trapping we try to catch and tag it and then or three things — it eats, sleeps and has sex, and hopes to put on enough fat to make it through the next winter.” sedating bears, Ross argues. “It’s like slugging them as a way of introduction.” During the past year, Ross spent time at the Bear Sanctuary in Ely, Minnesota. There he met bear expert Lynn Rogers and got to stand, walk and rub against wild black bears, whose diets are supplemented by and the populations of bear and other wild game, or they will obliterate themselves.” Roy Hampton of Lehi is an aspiring bear houndsman and archer and hopes his pups turn into able bear trackers. He hopes that houndsman keep the bear chase sport alive. “Hounding is a great family sport and on a good day, you cover a lot of ground.” Even with 4-to-6 dogs you crue] it is to run bears. They don’t understand these dogs are bred and raised for this reason, to hunt bears. They are in the heights of their glory when they get out and chase.” Hampton wishes that the spring bear “pursuit only” included killing because fall is too busy with the archery deer and elk season. Death doesn’t necessarily diminish a bear, he says. “Through taxidermy you bring the animal back to life. It's respected, eel eh a a el bring the animal back to life. It’s respected, you honor it, it’s not wasted and it never really dies.” you honor it, its not wasted never really dies.” Bob Jake’s Orem, hunter hunters ing “Jake” Jacobson, it is more exciting . . . You one, Blackwell of can’t believe the adrenaline rush, you just can't believe it.” Jake claims that most of society is uneducated about bear-baiting and hunting. “They are one of the most secretive and cautious animals in the mountains. If people say the bears are endangered, they don’t know where they are coming from... You After that, it’s BEAR Tom explained: “It’s after COMPROMISE Wharton, outdoor editor for The the side and Salt Lake Tribune is skeptical of state’s bear population count outof the Book Cliffs, Hobble Creek the La Sals. He would like to see a compromise on hunting, baiting and hound pursuit of both bears and cougars in Utah. “It would be allowed on a very limited basis in portions of the state where biologists have a real good handle on bear numbers.” In addition, Wharton proposes that non-hunting preserves be set up, where watching wildlife becomes a reality. “The Strawberry Valley, as an example, would be a good place to start. In this area, you could remove tat t Lynn Rogers feeds black bear near Ely, Minnesota the new wildlife publication Bear Magazine and hopes that with stunning photos and stories, he can “scare respect into people, photo by Drew Ross humans. “I learned about those bears in a way science could never explain.” entertain them, and at the same time have them learn more about these wonderful animals.” Garfield says it is unfair to bait and chase bears with hounds. “I seek them out feeding in forage along roadsides and hunt them with my STATE WILDLIFE VIEW A fed bear is a dead bear!” says Boyd Blackwell, Wildlife Program Coordinator for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. “Their desire for food overcomes their fear of humans and, in turn, they can become very camera. aggressive.” It’s just as exciting as hunt- ing.” Hunting has been an excuse to get into the outdoors, Garfield explained. “But now I travel with a camera to places like Alaska, Yellowstone and British Colombia. When I’m in bear country, I always carry a 15 ounce can of cayenne pepGarfield encourages people to support organizations like Vital Ground Foundation (Box 2971, Missoula, owner High Country Archery in has baited bear and been a nearly all his life. “Bow are ethical. Plus, bow-hunt- once. livestock, create viewing areas along the streams, plus provide habix per spray.” and it, destroyed.” The Wildlife Program Coordinator maintains that traditional hunting rights should be preserved. The life of the bear is a simple the don’t see a bear most of the time, Hampton said. Most people just don’t understand hounding, Hampton noted. “Them (sic) people read these articles how relocate Montana, 59806), which buys property and seeks to stop development in critical bear habitat. Another prominent bear advocacy group (Box is the 1289, Great Bear Bozeman, Foundation Montana, 59771), which promotes bear conservation throughout the world and issues a quarterly Bear News tabloid. Wildlife advocate and outdoor writer, Drew Ross, edits Bear Magazine and claims the public needs to bring bears out of the dark ages, as has been done recently with wolves. “We need to bring knowledge PAGE Utah’s black bear population is very healthy, Blackwell maintains. “We've controlled the number of hunters and protected a good quality population.” Blackwell estimates the state bear population at 800-to-1,200 with the best population in the Book Cliffs. “Roadless areas are a type of wildlife preserve. Unless a hunter has a horse and is willing to travel wide areas, the bears are protected.” Wildlife officials have received more complaints about bears in the last past three years than they have in the previous eight, Blackwell noted. “People just have to change the way they do things when they are in bear country. You can’t just leave a bowl of potato salad on the picnic table and then go for a hike.” The state attempts to deal with troublesome bears, Blackwell said. “Any time we have a problem bear, it's our policy to place notices and make certain campgrounds are cleaned. If a nuisance bear comes 12 by, for deer, elk, bear and other wildlife.” But Wharton defends the notion that most hunters care about the game they pursue. “In a legitimate- type hunt, hunters don’t like poaching and they police other hunters and this tends to protect the sport,” he said. On the other hand, if put to a popular vote, bear and cougar hunting could be in real trouble, Wharton said. “If non-hunting types get more involved, the Wildlife Division and the governor might have to finally listen.” Wildlife advocates have maintained for some time that Utah’s bear population is depressed. Margaret Pettis has published a periodical journal about black bears, Bearnet, forethe past four years, along with Dick Carter, the former executive director of the Utah Wilderness Association. They argue that Utah has an unhealthy bear population. “Utah bear habitats are fragmented, crisscrossed homes, with roads, summer timber sales, oil fields, camp- grounds, over-grazed ranges, dewatered rivers and an abundance of people,” Pettis wrote. Pettis and Carter oppose bear baiting and say hounding is “sheer harassment of bears living on the margins.” Gilbert, the USU professor who was mauled, agrees that the bear population is depressed. The quality of bear studies needs to be improved to provide a better understanding of Continued on page 15 |