First-day bear harvest ranks second

[Ole 20 Point]

Pennsylvania Game Commission officials today announced that hunters started the 2009 black bear season by taking a preliminary harvest of 1,897 black bears in 50 counties on the first day of the three-day statewide bear season. :bow:

The 2009 first-day preliminary harvest compares with 1,725 in 2008; 1,005 in 2007; 1,461 in 2006; 2,026 in 2005; 1,573 in 2004; 1,454 in 2003;1,348 2002; 1,812 in 2001; and 1,691 in 2000.

The top 10 bears processed at check stations on Monday all had estimated live weights that exceeded 550 pounds. Terence J. Burkhardt, of Jim Thorpe, harvested the largest bear, which was a male that weighed in at 654 pounds (actual live weight). :thup: The bear was taken in Penn Forest Township, Carbon County, at 4:35 p.m.

For more information, please visit the Pennsylvania Game Commission - State Wildlife Management Agency website: http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/cwp/view.asp?a=11&Q=177607 (http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/cwp/view.asp?a=11&Q=177607)

[Ole 20 Point]

TWO-DAY BEAR HARVEST REMAINS IN SECOND PLACE

Two days of bear hunting have produced a preliminary harvest of 2,709 bears, according to Pennsylvania Game Commission reports.

Last year, 2,518 bears were brought to Game Commission check stations after two days of hunting. In 2007, 1,638 bears passed through check stations the first two days and, in 2006, biologists inspected 2,185 bears after two days. In 2005, when the state record bear harvest was set, agency personnel processed 2,875 bears through the first two days of season; followed by 2,262 in 2004; 2,299 in 2003; and 2,022 in 2002.

The top 10 bears processed at check stations on the two days all had actual or estimated live weights that exceeded 570 pounds. Terence J. Burkhardt, of Jim Thorpe, harvested the largest bear, which was a male that weighed in at 654 pounds (actual live weight). The bear was taken in Penn Forest Township, Carbon County, at 4:35 p.m. on Nov. 23.

For more information, please visit the Pennsylvania Game Commission - State Wildlife Management Agency website: http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/cwp/view.asp?a=11&Q=177614 (http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/cwp/view.asp?a=11&Q=177614)

[Ole 20 Point]

BEAR HUNTERS HARVEST STANDS AT THIRD HIGHEST SO FAR

Pennsylvania Game Commission preliminary bear harvest figures show that 3,036 bears were taken during the recently completed three-day season (Nov. 23-25) and an additional 108 bears were harvested during the two-day archery bear harvest (Nov. 18-19).

So far, the total bear harvest of 3,144 for the two seasons preliminarily ranks as the third highest statewide harvest. However, with the extended bear season in certain Wildlife Management Units (WMUs) continuing through Dec. 5, the total preliminary harvest will increase. The two highest total bear harvests were recorded in 2005 (4,164 bears taken) and 2008 (3,458). In 2006, hunters harvested 3,122 bears during all seasons.

For more information, please visit the Pennsylvania Game Commission - State Wildlife Management Agency website: http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/cwp/view.asp?a=11&Q=177621 (http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/cwp/view.asp?a=11&Q=177621)

[Ole 20 Point]

WILKES-BARRE MAN CHARGED WITH ILLEGALLY KILLING LARGEST BEAR OF 2009 SEASON OVER BAIT

When is the largest bear killed in Pennsylvania’s bear season not the largest bear harvested? When it is the largest bear killed over bait, which equals poaching. That’s what happened when Charles W. Olsen Jr., of Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, decided that it’d be easier to kill a bear over a pile of pastries, rather than the method used by ethical hunters.

Pennsylvania Game Commission Wildlife Conservation Officer (WCO) Cory Bentzoni became suspicious when he saw a truck loaded with pastries from a local store driving along Route 309 in Dallas, Luzerne County.

“As we were about one week away from the opening of the statewide bear season, I thought that something illegal might be underway,” WCO Bentzoni said. “Being that we were so close to bear season, seeing that person drive by with an unusual amount of pastries was like watching an individual go down a row of parked vehicles testing each handle to see if it were open. Something just didn’t seem right.”

Bentzoni wrote down the vehicle license plate of the truck and found that it was registered to Olsen. He then instructed all Game Commission personnel operating bear check stations throughout the region to notify him if Olsen brought a bear into any one of the check stations.

Sure enough, on Nov. 25, Olsen brought a bear with an estimated live weight of 707-pound into the bear check station at the Northeast Region Office in Dallas, Luzerne County. Wyoming County WCO Vic Rosa was immediately contacted by the Northeast Region Office, since Olsen reportedly harvested the bear in Noxen Township, Wyoming County.

Northeast Region Land Management Supervisor Peter Sussenbach, who also was aware of the tip provided by WCO Bentzoni, approached Olsen and said “there might be a problem with this bear.” At that point, Olsen confessed that he had killed the bear over a bait pile.

“What is most unfortunate is that law-abiding bear hunters in the area were robbed of the opportunity to legally harvest truly a trophy bear by fair chase means,” said Northeast Region Law Enforcement Supervisor Dan Figured. “It was thanks to the quick thinking of an observant Wildlife Conservation Officer, and some basic investigative work, that helped resolve this case.”

WCO Rosa plans to file charges of illegally killing a bear over bait later this week. If found guilty, Olsen faces fines and penalties of between $500 and $1,500, as well as the loss of hunting/trapping privileges for at least three years. In addition to criminal fines in this case, the Game Commission intends to request from the judge restitution for this trophy-class bear, which could amount to $5,000. The enhanced restitution was adopted into regulations by the Board of Game Commissioners last year as another tool to deter those who would steal Pennsylvania’s wildlife.