Speak Out for SLO Black Bears TODAY! Comment Deadline November 28

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Wed, Nov 25, 2009 1:39 pm

Speak Out for SLO Black Bears TODAY! Comment Deadline November 28

 

 

 

Dear Friend of Black Bears,

 

I’m emailing you today because you are one of hundreds of concerned wildlife advocates who wrote emails and letters to the California Department of Fish and Game earlier this year. Now, we need you to voice your support for black bears again and the deadline to write emails and letters is November 28, 2009 – that’s this coming Saturday!

 

In February, the California Department of Fish and Game announced a plan to allow trophy hunting of black bears in San Luis Obispo County for the first time ever, primarily in the Los Padres National Forest. The plan would have allowed up to 50 bears to be killed in SLO County each year – an astounding number, given the fact that no one has ever conducted a bear census in the county to know how many bears are here in the first place.

 

Thanks to your letters and support, ForestWatch led the charge to defeat this proposal, urging the Department to withdraw its proposed bear hunt. Now, the proposal to allow black bear hunting in San Luis Obispo County is back! Just last month, Fish & Game officials announced that they will bring back their SLO bear hunting proposal in February 2010.

 

Currently, the Department is accepting comments on this and other possible changes to the state’s mammal hunting regulations. You and I need to send a clear message today that we do not want the Department to propose bear hunting in San Luis Obispo in 2010.

 

Comments are due this Saturday, November 28. (Unfortunately, the Department chose the Saturday after Thanksgiving as the comment deadline.) I hope you’ll take a few moments to write an email or send a letter today. Please include the following issues in your comments. If you use your own words, your letter will carry more weight (agencies tend to bundle all form letters together and consider them as a single comment). Here are the issues:

 

 

The Department should not allow the expansion of bear hunting into San Luis Obispo County until a scientifically valid census is completed. Scientists still don’t know how many bears are in the County, and allowing a hunt without this information could negatively impact bear population numbers.

 

 

If the Department decides to consider allowing bear hunting in SLO County, the Department should schedule a public hearing on the matter in San Luis Obispo County to solicit input directly from local residents.

 

 

The Department should consider reducing the number of bears allowed to be taken each year statewide. Currently, bear hunting season is closed when 1,700 bears are reported killed in the state. However, due to delays in processing and notification, more than 2,000 bears were reported killed in the state last year – nearly 20% higher than the stated limit.

 

 

The Department should hire additional wardens and take other measures to reduce the number of bears illegally killed each year by poachers. Poaching continues to increase in California, a clear sign that the Department lacks enough wardens to patrol existing levels of hunting, let alone to patrol hunting in new areas.

 

In addition to these practical concerns, there are also ethical concerns about how most bears are hunted – with packs of hounds that will chase a bear to the point of exhaustion, forcing it to climb a tree where it’s then cornered and shot. Calling this practice unsportsmanlike, many states have banned hound hunting, but California is one of the few states where it’s still allowed.

 

Send your comments to:

 

Doug Updike

Wildlife Branch

California Department of Fish and Game

1812 9th Street

Sacramento, CA 95811

dupdike

 

Thank you for speaking out for the bears once again. We will keep you updated on future comment opportunities in 2010. Working together, you and I can ensure that black bears continue to have the freedom to roam in San Luis Obispo County and beyond.

 

For the bears,

/s/

Jeff Kuyper

Executive Director

Los Padres ForestWatch

 

P.S. To read more about this issue, or to make a tax-deductible contribution to our Black Bear Defense Fund, visit our website at www.LPFW.org Thanks for your support!