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April 21, 2010
BEAR HUNTING PROPOSAL SHOT DOWN
FOR SECOND TIME IN TWO YEARS
Fish & Game
Indefinitely Delays Proposal to Allow First-Ever Bear Hunting
Season in San Luis Obispo County, Citing an Inability to Respond
to Widespread Public Opposition
In another victory for our region's wildlife, the California
Fish & Game Commission this morning indefinitely postponed a
proposal to allow a first-ever bear hunting season in San Luis
Obispo County. State officials cited their inability to respond
to widespread opposition as the reason for scrapping the
proposal for the second time in two years.
“We applaud Fish & Game for taking a time-out to
consider many of the serious scientific and legal concerns
identified during the public comment process,” said Jeff Kuyper,
executive director of Los Padres ForestWatch. “Not only was the
Department unable to respond to the overwhelming amount of
public opposition to its proposal, but the agency’s
environmental document was scientifically and legally deficient.
It’s a great day for our County’s bears.”
In a
memo to the
Commission, John McCamman, the Director of the California
Department of Fish and Game, acknowledged that the agency was
unable to respond to all of the scientific and legal issues that
were received during the public comment period. “The Department
recommends at this time that the Commission make no change to
the existing bear hunting regulations,” the memo concluded.
In addition, Deputy Director Sonke Mastrup stated
that new information received during last month’s public comment
was significant enough to require a re-write and re-circulation
of the environmental document -- and another public comment
period -- prior to Commission approval.
Mathematical Errors Plague
Proposal
A similar proposal was soundly defeated last year
because Fish & Game failed to provide any population estimates
for bears in San Luis Obispo County. This year, the Department
estimated that 1,067 black bears occur in San Luis Obispo
County, but based that estimate on the assumption that the
County contained 4,918 square miles of bear habitat. According
to the U.S. Census Bureau, San Luis Obispo County spans only
3,304 square miles, suggesting that the Department grossly
exaggerated the amount of bear habitat in the County and thus,
the number of bears here.
Because of errors like these, Dr. Rick Hopkins –
one of the state’s top wildlife biologists – recommended in a
letter last month that the Fish & Game Commission reject the
proposal and its “error-riddled analysis.” Dr. Hopkins, along
with wildlife attorney Bill Yeates, submitted a detailed
scientific and legal critique of the proposal to Fish & Game on
March 15.
The proposal, announced in February, would have
allowed the first-ever bear hunting season in San Luis Obispo
County. The regulatory package would have also expanded bear
hunting into Lassen and Modoc counties in northern California;
allowed hunters to use high-tech tracking devices that would
pinpoint the location where their hounds had cornered a bear up
a tree; and would have lifted all numerical limits to black bear
hunting statewide. Currently, the bear season closes when the
Department receives notification that 1,700 bears have been
killed.
Widespread Opposition
The Department received more than 10,000 comments
on the proposed changes and the accompanying draft environmental
document. Most of the comments opposed the changes and
criticized the scientific and legal inadequacies of the
environmental review. Under state law, the Department must
respond to these comments and finalize the environmental
document prior to adopting any changes to the state’s hunting
regulations. The comment period closed on March 15, 2010, more
than a month before this morning's hearing.
“We hope this will provide Fish & Game with an
opportunity to rethink its proposal to allow bear hunting in San
Luis Obispo County," said Kuyper. Based on current information
provided by state biologists, such a hunt would not be
sustainable and is not in the best interests of the County’s
wildlife.”
In addition, the San Luis Obispo County Board of
Supervisors last month passed a resolution opposing bear hunting
in the County. And earlier this week, 19 state lawmakers sent a
letter to the Department opposing the changes as well.
What's Next
The Commission today voted to revisit the bear
hunting changes at its May 5 meeting.
“We will continue to track any future attempts to
allow bear hunting in San Luis Obispo County, and Fish & Game
will continue to face overwhelming public opposition if they
fail to give our county’s bears the protection they deserve,”
said Kuyper.
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