New Jersey-2022-S3052-Introduced

An Act requiring the Division of Fish and Wildlife to conduct an annual black bear population count and supplementing Title 23 of the New Jersey Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. The Legislature finds and declares that:

a. The Fish and Game Council is mandated by the Legislature to protect and conserve game birds, mammals, and fish, and to maintain and ensure long-term stable populations to adequately supply recreational and commercial harvest;

b. The Fish and Game Council ensures that the black bear population can support a hunting season by preparing a Comprehensive Black Bear Management Policy (CBBMP) based on the scientific evidence and data collected, including an estimate of the black bear population size, by the Division of Fish and Wildlife;

c. Every five years, the Fish and Game Council presents for approval a CBBMP to the Commissioner of Environmental Protection. Absent approval of the CBBMP by the commissioner, the Fish and Game Council is not authorized to set a black bear hunting season;

d. In 2018, Governor Murphy signed an executive order directing the Department of Environmental Protection to close all public land to bear hunting for the 2018, 2019, and 2020 hunting seasons;

e. On June 21, 2021, the CBBMP expired, and the Commissioner of Environmental Protection failed to approve the newly updated and proposed CBBMP, which resulted in no hunting season or population count for black bear in 2021;

f. Since the 1980's, the black bear population has increased and expanded its range, and since 2003, black bear hunting seasons in New Jersey have been recommended by the Fish and Game Council as a method of controlling the expansion of the black bear population;

g. The Division of Fish and Wildlife reported that black bear sightings and nuisance reports doubled in New Jersey from 2019 to 2020. The division provided the following figures: (1) black bear sightings increased from 169 in 2019 to 349 in 2020; (2) damage and nuisance reports involving black bears increased from 122 in 2019 to 268 in 2020; (3) black bears sightings in Hudson County, the most urbanized county in the State, rose from zero in 2019 to five in 2020; and (4) the most recent black bear count conducted in 2020 estimated that there was a total of 3,153 bears in the northwestern part of the State, the third highest figure this century;

h. The Fish and Game Council reported in May 2022 that there was a 127 percent increase in the number of black bear encounters reported since 2021, and the number of serious black bear encounters increased nearly ninefold in the same period of time; and

i. The Fish and Game Council reported a total of 13 serious black bear encounters from 2020 to 2021, which included the following incidents: (1) at least two people were injured by black bears just outside their homes in Sussex County; (2) at least three dogs were killed or injured by black bears; (3) a black bear entered a home, and another black bear attempted to enter a home in Morris County; and (4) at least three instances of black bears attacking protected livestock; and

j. Based on the increased number of black bear sightings, serious encounters, and nuisance reports since 2017, the last time bear hunting was allowed on State land, and 2020, the last regulated Statewide black bear hunt, it is likely that there is an overpopulation of black bears in the State, and the only way to confirm if the black bear population has increased is for the Division of Fish and Wildlife to conduct a yearly black bear population count.

2. As used in this act:

"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Environmental Protection.

"Council" means the Fish and Game Council.

"Division" means the Division of Fish and Wildlife.

3 a. The division, in consultation with the council, shall conduct an annual Statewide black bear population count, arrived at through the most accurate population estimate method available.

b. The division shall submit an annual report to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature, that contains an estimate of the black bear population in the State, along with the following information:

(1) an analysis of black bear population distribution and density, including population growth and decline, by county, municipality, and bear management zone; and

(2) data on the black bear population including birth rates, death rates, survivability, age, gender, home range size, habitat use, and movement.

4. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill requires the Department of Environmental Protection's Division of Fish and Wildlife ("division"), in consultation with the Fish and Game Council ("council"), to conduct an annual Statewide black bear population count.

Specifically, the bill would require an estimation of the black bear population in the State to be determined through the most accurate population estimate method available. Under the bill, the division would also be required to submit an annual report to the Governor and Legislature that includes the following information: (1) an estimate of the black bear population in the State; (2) an analysis of black bear population distribution, density, growth, and decline by area; and (3) data on the black bear population including birth rates, death rates, survivability, age, gender, home range size, habitat use, and movement.

The council ensures that the black bear population can support a hunting season by preparing a Comprehensive Black Bear Management Policy (CBBMP) based on the scientific evidence and data collected, including an estimate of the black bear population size, by the division. Every five years, the council presents a CBBMP to the Commissioner ("commissioner") of Environmental Protection. The commissioner must approve the CBBMP, otherwise, the council cannot set a black bear hunting season. On June 21, 2021, the CBBMP expired, and the commissioner failed to approve the proposed CBBMP, which resulted in no hunting season or population count for black bear in 2021. The council reported in May 2022 that there was a 127 percent increase in the number of black bear encounters reported since 2021. In addition, the number of serious black bear encounters increased nearly ninefold in the same period of time. Based on the increased black bear sightings, serious encounters, and nuisance reports, since the last regulated Statewide black bear hunt, it is likely that there is an overpopulation of black bears in the State. The only way to confirm if the black bear population has increased is for the division to conduct a yearly black bear population count.