Comment sought on black bear management plan

Louisiana’s black bear population has gone from being fragile enough to join the Endangered Species list to restored to a viable level highly unlikely of going extinct.
“The black bear is Louisiana’s most recent conservation success story,” said Kenny Ribbeck, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Office of Wildlife administrator, in the introduction to a black bear management plan. “The subspecies is a symbol of Louisiana’s successful wildlife management approaches and is a prominent example of the Endangered Species Act of 1973.”
With the increase in the state’s black bear population, the department has released a proposed management plan for the species. The proposal references several studies including a recent U.S. Geological Survey study that found that the chance of all the subpopulations going extinct was less than 1 percent.
To view the full Louisiana Black Bear Management Plan, go to www.wlf.louisiana.gov/louisiana-black-bear-management-plan. Comments on the plan will be accepted through March 6 and should be sent to mdavidson@wlf.la.gov or Maria Davidson, LDWF Wildlife Division, 5652 Hwy. 182 Opelousas, LA 70570. For more information, contact Davidson at 337-948-0255 or mdavidson@wlf.la.gov or Robert Gosnell at 225-763-5448 or rgosnell@wlf.la.gov.
The nearest of the state’s four black bear subpopulations is partially located in eastern St. Landry Parish, and the group is the Upper Atchafalaya River Basin subpopulation. Bears in this subpopulation are also found in Pointe Coupee Parish, northern West Baton Rouge Parish, northern Iberville Parish,and northern St. Martin Parish. The state’s other three black bear populations are the Tensas River Basin subpopulation, the repatriated subpopulation in Avoyelles and Concordia parishes and the Lower Atchafalaya River Basin subpopulation.
“St. Landry Parish is a range expansion area,” said Maria Davidson, Large Carnivore Program manager. “Bears have been moving to the parish from Avoyelles and Point Coupee parishes, and that has been going on a number of years. The first sighting calls we got were dispensing males. We are just beginning to get calls about female bears in St. Landry Parish. These are typical waves.”
Currently there is no bear population estimate for St. Landry Parish, but the department plans to trap and collar bears to determine population numbers this summer. Since 1992, there have been more than 29 confirmed bear sightings in St. Landry Parish.
“There are not a large number of sightings in St. Landry Parish, but the number is not really representative of how many bears are in the parish,” Davidson said. “In the north and eastern parts of St. Landry Parish, there is suitable habitat for bears. You won’t see them moving into Opelousas.”
Within the plan, two strategies for black bear conservation were developed by the department in coordination with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey. The first, population conservation, is the responsibility of the state department, with direction provided by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Under this strategy, the subpopulations will be monitored for perpetual endurance, range expansion and connectivity and gene flow between subpopulations.
The second, habitat conservation, is the responsibility of state wildlife and fisheries department and many partners including the fish and wild service, Natural Resource Conservation Service and Army Corps of Engineers. Under this strategy, current, protected black bear habitat will continue to be managed to support black bears, and extra areas will be identified for future use to connect the populations and hopefully increase bear range.
The plan also includes three overarching bear management actions.
The first management action is education and outreach. The department has been and will continue to provide bear educational materials to the public, host public meetings about species research and management and provide educators in the state with educational materials for teaching use.
“Outreach in St. Landry Parish will focus on hunters,” Davidson said. “Bears have an impact on how hunters are using property for hunting. The more people are able to hunt successfully with bears in an area, the more acceptance there will be of the bear population.”
The second management action focus on minimizing human-bear conflicts. Assistance for bear-human incidents will be provided by the state, and a course of action will be determined on a case- by-case basis, with consideration of the impacts to both humans and bears.
“St. Landry Parish has a fairly low number of human-bear conflicts,” Davidson said. “Most of the conflicts are with hunters and bears at their feeders. St. Landry has more sightings than conflicts.”
One of the most recent conflicts in St. Landry Parish involved two bears that had been treed by dogs. The bears were captured the bears, and they were moved to nearby public lands, most likely a wildlife management area.
Under the third management action, should the Louisiana black bear be delisted, bear harvests may be considered as a management action. Population sustainability is of the utmost importance to the department and if proposed harvests would deter sustainability, the management action would not be allowed. If the species is delisted, a post-delisting monitoring plan will be also developed to monitor trends of bear subpopulations and each subpopulation’s habitat.
“The decision to delist is up to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,” Davidson said. “I think it will happen. We are there.”
“We just have to wait and see,” she said.