It may be a surprise to learn that Kentucky was once known as “the Black Bear State.” Biologists suggest that in the early 1800s, Eastern Kentucky’s rich forests likely supported the largest black bear population in North America. When it was settled later that century by Daniel Boone and oth er market hunters and trappers, the state’s wildlife — including its bears — were heavily hunted, with the pelts, hides and meat sold for monetary gain. The book, “Historical Sketches of Kentucky” notes that between 1805 and 1807, roughly 8,000 black bear hides were exported to the United Kingdom for use in British grenadier hats. Those tall bearskin top hats are still worn by Buckingham Palace’s footguards. A black bear. (Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.) Over the next two centuries, white settlers rapidly converted Kentucky’s habitats. Forests, savannas and grasslands were cleared; wetlands drained. The result was catastrophic: wildlife plummeted, and bison and black bears were extirpated. By 1900, one could not find a single black bear in Kentucky. Traces of Kentucky’s bear-rich past remained of course; some 50 counties had a Bear Creek, and communities like Bruin or Bear Branch survived. Yet, the Black Bear State no longer had any bears. Then in the 1980s, individuals began naturally dispersing into Kentucky from neighboring Appalachian states. Today, Kentucky supports two subpopulations of black bears. One occupies the Cumberland Plateau and connects genetically with bear populations in Virginia and West Virginia. The second originated in the late 1990s, when the National Park Service restored bears to Tennessee’s section of the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, near McCreary County. Unlike the more connected plateau population, this southern group is isolated and genetically cut off. Biologists warn it must be protected from high hunting pressure and illegal kills, and may need occasional augmentation to remain healthy and viable. The big picture here is unsettling. Since 2010, the state’s increasingly permissive bear-hunting regulations have fueled a sharp rise in the numbers killed annually. Breeding females make up about one-third of the annual kill, although biologists agree that safeguarding adult females is essential for bear conservation. Protecting them is also a humane imperative: Mother bears tend and teach their cubs for roughly 18 months. Yet the most troubling aspect of Kentucky’s bear policy is the widespread use of packs of hounds to hunt bears. Hunting with hounds is not “fair chase,” as it gives hunters overwhelming advantages.  Kentucky has no limit on the number of hounds hunters may use, and the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission — whose members are nominated by hunters and appointed by the governor — recently expanded the hound chase-only season to begin on May 10 (previously June 1) and run through Sept. 30 starting next year. That means bears emerging from their winter dens will have virtually no period of respite from pursuit by hounds. This is especially dangerous for females with newborn cubs. Hounds will chase any animal whose feet touch the ground, causing extreme stress to bears and hounds alike. Chases can also lead to violent encounters, resulting in injuries or deaths to wildlife, hounds and even pets or livestock. Hounds have killed cubs and deer fawns and even attacked people. The commission also approved allowing hunters to bypass in-person carcass inspections and instead just mail in a tooth (to determine the bear’s age). This change will likely increase misidentification of sex, degrade data quality for Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources biologists, and make it easier for illegally-killed bears to go unreported — opening the door wider to poaching and trafficking. According to recent census data, only about 7% of Kentucky residents hunt, and far fewer hunt bears. If so few Kentuckians participate in bear hunting, why is the commission choosing to dismantle essential safeguards and expand practices most oppose? Kentucky’s wildlife belongs to us all, not just the small minority who hunt. To protect Kentucky’s recovering bears, we should broaden the conversation about who should be involved in shaping wildlife policy. Kentucky urgently needs advisory councils that include biologists, conservationists, tribal voices, local community leaders and non-hunting stakeholders. These councils should work alongside the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources to ensure that a fuller range of public values guides wildlife management in the commonwealth. Kentucky bears have returned from the brink once before. Whether they remain part of Kentucky’s natural heritage depends on the choices we make now for future generations. Opening the path toward wider public participation in safeguarding wildlife and our natural habitats will make a world of difference, and it is something we should do with urgency.  The post Kentucky’s decisions about hunting bears show why more people need to be making them appeared first on The Lexington Times. ...read more read less