New bear hunting capital

There was a time when local villages would swell in population as hunters filled camps for the opening of deer season.

As deer populations have declined in northcentral Pennsylvania, most of these hunters stay closer to home. Bear season is now becoming the big hunting draw.

The past decade has seen dramatic increases in Pennsylvania's bear population. Starting the weekend before Thanksgiving, camps begin to swell with hunters. Monday morning finds the woods full of hunters.

Clinton and Lycoming counties have led the state in average annual bear kills. However, the numbers are somewhat deceiving because these two are two of Pennsylvania's largest counties.

A look at the bear killed per square mile provides a clearer view. Cameron County comes out on top, with one bear killed per 3.75 square miles. Clinton is second with one per 4.09 square miles. Pike is third with one per 4.49 square miles. Potter County has had a bear kill density of one bear per 7.75 square miles.

Pike County in the Poconos once had the highest bear kill densities in the state.However, with the rapid development, Pike's bear population has decreased significantly in recent years.

Game Commission biologists estimate that about 20 percent of the bear population is killed by hunters each season. Taking this estimate into account, Cameron County would have a pre-hunt bear density of about 1.3 bears per square mile. Clinton County would have about 1.2 bears per square mile.

Bear hunting tradition runs deep in this region. You would be hard pressed to find anywhere in North America that has as many bear hunters afield. Large groups can be found driving thick, laurel choked hillsides. Others choose to hunt by tree stand or by watching escape routes and areas of cover.

A combination of oakdominated forests and heavy huckleberry, lowbush blueberry, and laurel-choked understory provide excellent bear habitat.

There are few areas in North America that support higher black bear densities. Most are located in national parks or other large tracts of land where hunting is not permitted. One example is the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, which has about two bears per square mile.

Anyway you look at it, bear hunting has been evolving into the big economic draw for little towns such as Sinnemahoning, Westport, Wharton, Driftwood, and others scattered throughout the region. Few could argue that we're the bear hunting capital of North America.