Hunt and Fish Finders - View Single Post - Here is an update on the possible Bear hunting in Oklahoma

oucorry · 03-17-2008

By Ed Godfrey
Outdoors Editor
HB 3077, which would have created a special bear-hunting license, is dead.
The author of the bill, Rep. Joe Dorman, D-Rush Springs, was quoted by The Associated Press last week that researchers at Oklahoma State University believed there were not enough bears in the state to sustain a hunt.

However, David Leslie, the leader of the Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at OSU, which is conducting the bear research, told The Oklahoman just the opposite.

"I personally believe there are enough bears in Oklahoma to sustain a harvest,” Leslie said Friday.

Leslie said there are between 451 and 457 bears in the research area alone in the Ouachita National Forest.

"There are very likely more outside of our study area,” he said.

Dorman said he was misquoted in the AP story. He told The Oklahoman Friday the bill was killed because the floor leader had a constituent contact him, saying the bear population wasn't large enough to support a hunt, so he wouldn't put it on the calendar.

"I told him I would have (the) Wildlife (Department) and other pro-hunting groups call in, but he said he wouldn't budge,” Dorman said. "I'm requesting a study this summer to show we have enough for a controlled hunt.”

State wildlife officials sought to create a limited bear-hunting season by the fall of 2009 where no more than 20 bears could be killed.

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03-17-2008	#2 (permalink)
oucorry Administrator Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Blanchard, ok Posts: 518 Images: 1	Some more input By Ed Godfrey Outdoors Editor HB 3077, which would have created a special bear-hunting license, is dead. The author of the bill, Rep. Joe Dorman, D-Rush Springs, was quoted by The Associated Press last week that researchers at Oklahoma State University believed there were not enough bears in the state to sustain a hunt. However, David Leslie, the leader of the Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at OSU, which is conducting the bear research, told The Oklahoman just the opposite. "I personally believe there are enough bears in Oklahoma to sustain a harvest,” Leslie said Friday. Leslie said there are between 451 and 457 bears in the research area alone in the Ouachita National Forest. "There are very likely more outside of our study area,” he said. Dorman said he was misquoted in the AP story. He told The Oklahoman Friday the bill was killed because the floor leader had a constituent contact him, saying the bear population wasn't large enough to support a hunt, so he wouldn't put it on the calendar. "I told him I would have (the) Wildlife (Department) and other pro-hunting groups call in, but he said he wouldn't budge,” Dorman said. "I'm requesting a study this summer to show we have enough for a controlled hunt.” State wildlife officials sought to create a limited bear-hunting season by the fall of 2009 where no more than 20 bears could be killed. •