ALBANY, N.Y. – In response to a growing population of bears, the state Department of Environmental Conservation has expanded hunting zones to include 13 new areas in central and western New York this fall.
State DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis says the hunting boundaries were expanded because the black bear population has grown in number and range in recent years, and hunting is an important tool in managing bear population growth.
The current bear population in New York state is estimated at around 7,000, with about 2,000 of those in the southern half of the state and the rest in the Adirondacks, said Gordon Batcheller, a DEC wildlife biologist.
"When I started my career in western New York in 1981, black bears weren’t a significant presence," Batcheller said. "Now my colleagues in that area say dealing with black bears is a regular occurrence."
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