Why is ODFW requiring hunters to check in their harvested bears?
For the past eight years, less than 30 percent of hunters have voluntarily checked in their harvested bears. Participation was below the level identified in the state’s 1993 Black Bear Management Plan. An accurate estimate of the black bear population is needed to set hunting seasons, monitor population trends, recommend habitat changes to land management agencies, and evaluate how black bears impact other wildlife and humans. The check-in of non-hunting mortalities (e.g. bears killed by vehicles or taken on landowner damage complaints) is also required.
