Governor: No bear hunt this year
BY TOM HESTER JR.
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
TRENTON (AP) -- Gov. Jon S. Corzine today rejected a bear hunt for this year and ordered state environmental officials to control bears without killing them.
Corzine had until today to readopt regulations authorizing a bear hunt from Dec. 4-9 in the state's northwestern region, but he declined to take action, arguing the state hasn't given enough consideration to other bear control methods.
Instead, Corzine ordered state Environmental Protection Commissioner Lisa Jackson to review the effectiveness of the state's bear management plan and whether last year's bear hunt, in which about 300 bears were killed, helped reduce contact between bears and people.
"I believe it is not appropriate to go forward with a bear hunt for this year without first trying to implement significant new, non-lethal bear mitigation measures," Corzine said.
Corzine said the bear hunt regulations he was asked to readopt weren't approved by his administration, which took office in January. He said the state hasn't done enough to implement anti-bear measures such as educating residents on how to live with bears and ensuring food and garbage don't draw bears to houses.
Corzine said he would provide money to implement other bear control measures, but didn't detail how much.
Corzine's move came as no surprise. On Friday, the governor indicated he wouldn't approve a bear hunt this year because he's seen no evidence it would help control the animals. His position angered northwestern New Jersey lawmakers who favor a bear hunt.
Sens. Robert Littell and Anthony Bucco and Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose, Republicans who represent northwestern New Jersey where most of New Jersey's bears can be found, issued a statement Friday that deemed Corzine's plan "a governor's defiance of the law in order to satisfy an extremist fringe that seeks to ban all hunting."
The hunt would have been the third since 2003, when the state held its first bear hunt in 35 years to try to control a bear population that had grown to an estimated 3,200 animals.
Last year's hunt was held in a 1,500-square-mile region in northwestern New Jersey between interstates 78 and 287, though bears have been spotted in all 21 counties.
BY TOM HESTER JR.
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
TRENTON (AP) -- Gov. Jon S. Corzine today rejected a bear hunt for this year and ordered state environmental officials to control bears without killing them.
Corzine had until today to readopt regulations authorizing a bear hunt from Dec. 4-9 in the state's northwestern region, but he declined to take action, arguing the state hasn't given enough consideration to other bear control methods.
Instead, Corzine ordered state Environmental Protection Commissioner Lisa Jackson to review the effectiveness of the state's bear management plan and whether last year's bear hunt, in which about 300 bears were killed, helped reduce contact between bears and people.
"I believe it is not appropriate to go forward with a bear hunt for this year without first trying to implement significant new, non-lethal bear mitigation measures," Corzine said.
Corzine said the bear hunt regulations he was asked to readopt weren't approved by his administration, which took office in January. He said the state hasn't done enough to implement anti-bear measures such as educating residents on how to live with bears and ensuring food and garbage don't draw bears to houses.
Corzine said he would provide money to implement other bear control measures, but didn't detail how much.
Corzine's move came as no surprise. On Friday, the governor indicated he wouldn't approve a bear hunt this year because he's seen no evidence it would help control the animals. His position angered northwestern New Jersey lawmakers who favor a bear hunt.
Sens. Robert Littell and Anthony Bucco and Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose, Republicans who represent northwestern New Jersey where most of New Jersey's bears can be found, issued a statement Friday that deemed Corzine's plan "a governor's defiance of the law in order to satisfy an extremist fringe that seeks to ban all hunting."
The hunt would have been the third since 2003, when the state held its first bear hunt in 35 years to try to control a bear population that had grown to an estimated 3,200 animals.
Last year's hunt was held in a 1,500-square-mile region in northwestern New Jersey between interstates 78 and 287, though bears have been spotted in all 21 counties.
