Afield: Preliminary figures show a sub-par bear harvest in Pennsylvania. Take a look

The statewide regular firearms season for bears came to a close Nov. 21, and the extended bear season in select wildlife management units ended on Dec. 9. Hunters in the traditional northcentral and northeastern bear counties did well, but less so in non-traditional counties such as Huntingdon and Somerset.

Preliminary figures show just 25 bears were shot in Huntingdon County, and only 31 bears in Somerset County. These two counties have sometimes posted harvests of over 100 bears each.

“Bears checked at the Huntingdon check station near Petersburg reached an all-time low,” Pennsylvania Game Commission biologist Justin Vreeland noted. Vreeland reported that only 17 bears were checked on Nov. 18, the opening day of the regular firearms season. Only four were checked on Sunday, Nov. 19. The numbers were similar in neighboring Centre County, where 21 were checked at Mira Lloyd Dock Resource Conservation Center (Penn Nursery) on the opening day, and only two on the second day.

Meanwhile, successful hunters were lining up at the Quehanna check station in northern Clearfield County. They checked 71 bears on the opening day, and 20 bears on day two. Although not as high as Quehanna, several check stations in the northeastern counties were also doing well.

I met Buddy Dorman of Middleburg, Snyder County, when he checked his bear at the Centre County check station. Dorman was one of 17 hunters to bag a bear in Union County this year. Dorman was hunting with his three friends on Jones Mountain in the Bald Eagle State Forest.

“We spread out to different spots in the same general area,” Dorman said. “I was sitting on the side of the mountain, a rocky area filled with mountain laurel, when just before 10:00 a.m., I heard a shot below me.”

Like most hunters’ reaction to a close shot, Dorman readied himself for a possible bear coming up the mountain. Much to his surprise, a bear appeared a few minutes later and came as close as 30 yards. With one shot from his .30-06, Dorman bagged a 170-pound bear with a nice white blaze on its chest. It was his second bear. The first one was bagged way back in 1984.

Hunters enjoyed excellent weather during the first three days of the regular season, Nov. 18-20, but an all-day rain throughout much of the state limited the statewide harvest on the final fourth day. Statewide, 699 bears were harvested on the opening day of the regular firearms season. Hunters took 236 on day two, 119 on day three, and only 29 bears on the final day. That brought the regular season total to 1,086 — almost the same as last year’s total of 1,051.

Where were the heaviest bears?

Pennsylvania hunters bagged six bears with estimated live weights of over 600 pounds. The top bear weighed 691 pounds, and was taken in Pike County. The second heaviest bruin was shot in Schuylkill County on Oct. 19 by Joseph Brennan of Pottsville. Lackawanna County produced the third heaviest bear — a 636-pounder. Westley Leibig of Saylorsburg checked the fourth heaviest bruin — a 630-pounder shot on the second day of rifle season in Monroe County.

Rounding out the top six was a bear arrowed by Brad Matalavage of Nesquehoning, who took his 616 pound bear on Oct. 26 in Carbon County, and a 605 pound bear shot in Northampton County on the opening day of rifle season by Kyle Heselpoth of Port Treverton.

County Harvests

Preliminary numbers at the end of the extended season show that the northeastern counties had an exceptionally large showing. During the past few years, the northcentral counties have dominated the top ten. Bears were harvested in 58 of the 67 counties, with only Washington County in the southwest and eight southeastern counties having no harvest.

Centre County (No. 5 last year) and Clearfield County (No. 7 last year) are absent from this year’s top ten. The total bear harvest in Centre County this year was 71, which placed it at the 17th highest county. Neighboring Clearfield County yielded 72 bruins — placing it 16th. The non-traditional bear counties in the northwest, southcentral and southwest had low harvests.

Below is a look at the top 10 counties and their harvests.

1. Tioga, 176 (NC region)

2. Lycoming, 169 (NC region)

3. Potter, 154 (NC region)

4. Pike, 142 (NE region)

5. Bradford, 137 (NE region)

6. Luzerne, 135 (NE region)

7. Monroe, 127 (NE region)

8. Wayne ,124 (NE region)

9. Clinton, 108 (NC region)

10. Carbon, 101 (NE region)

Preliminary bear harvest figures indicate that hunters harvested 2,913 bears during all seasons in 2023. This is the first time in 16 years that the harvest has dropped below 3,000 bears. The harvest was below 3,000 in 2007 and also in 2002, but you have to go way back to 1999 to find harvests consistently below 3,000.

The season total of 2,913 played out this way. Hunters harvested only five bears during the early archery season that was held in Wildlife Management Units 2B, 5C and 5D. This compares to six bears harvested last year in that early season. Hunters shot 1,230 bears during the archery, muzzleloader and special firearms seasons, 1,086 during the regular four-day firearms season, and 592 bears during the extended season. In 2021, hunters checked 1,128 bears in just the extended season.

Before the addition of extra seasons, it was not uncommon for hunters to harvest over 3,000 bears in just a three-day firearms season. Recent all-season totals included 3,170 bears in 2022, 3,661 in 2021 and 3,621 in 2020. A record harvest of 4,653 bruins occurred in 2019.

Here’s a look at Pennsylvania’s top bear harvests by year:

1. 4,653 in 2019

2. 4,350 in 2011

3. 4,164 in 2005

4. 3,748 in 2015

5. 3,659 in 2021

Final bear harvest figures will not likely be tabulated until January.

Mark Nale, who lives in the Bald Eagle Valley, is a member of the Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association and can be reached at MarkAngler@aol.com .