Copyright 2000 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcoast, rewritten, or redistributed. Several bills to further regulate black bear hunting, including bans on the use of dogs and baiting, have been killed by the Legislature. And a proposal that could increase bear hunting fees is being set aside while state officials take an in-depth look at all of Maine's fishing and hunting fees during the next several months.
Maine has the largest black bear population east of the Mississippi.
Hunters killed 3,483 bears in 1999, a 33 percent increase from the previous year. The total was up another 13 percent in 2000 to 3,951. State biologists say the figures shouldn't cause alarm, and that Maine's estimated black bear population of 23,000 can be sustained with hunting totals in the 3,500-4,000 range. Committee members decided to devise a response plan rather than react now. They voted unanimously to kill proposals to outlaw the use of dogs and bait in bear hunting, to restrict the number of baits that guides can set and to bar the sale of bear parts.