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What is your take on allowing the black bear population to expand?
- Thread starter lampern
- Start date
strothershwacker
Senior Member
Northwest Ga has room for more. Walker, Gilmer, Floyd, Chattooga, Dade counties all have room. Between the National Forestry lands, WMAs and large undeveloped private tracts I think the bear would thrive. From Taylor's Ridge to Sand Moutain there's plenty of room bear habitat.
Rabun
Senior Member
I don't know how you disallow bear expansion.
rospaw
Senior Member
Gilmer is full! No more room for bears. Wish i still had the picture of the 200 pounder crossing the roundabout on the square. They are EVERYWHERE in gilmer and need thinning out.
Do bears read signs? Will they comply if we create bear-free zones?
NorthGeorgiaHunter
Member
What we really need is to stop the human expansion. Too many people now.
livinoutdoors
Goatherding Non-socialist Bohemian Luddite
Most of the people population in georgia is centered around atlanta, augusta, etc... lots of country with low population outside of the mountains n s ga swamps where bears thrive now. Look at places like new jersey and florida and other yankee states with huge populations and sizable bear populations. Lots of room to expand but why i guess?
tree cutter 08
Senior Member
Exactly!
strothershwacker
Senior Member
Ok. Take Gilmer out of the list.
So why would the WRD use the term “allow”?
That’s why I find the WRDs language odd.
HunterJoe24
Senior Member
How do you allow the population to expand? By practicing management that allows it....
Yes I hope they do. We have one of the lower bear per square miles population
Yes I hope they do. We have one of the lower bear per square miles population
"allow and support" suggests they would take an active approach. The first thing that comes to mind is relocating trapped bears from high density areas to low.
strothershwacker
Senior Member
Folks that don't want bear around have never tried black bear black bean chili.
strothershwacker
Senior Member
I'm sure there's a plan for that in the works. Careful what you wish for.
Only thing I see in the plan regarding relocation is taking a few female bears and releasing them into the central bear population to expand the genetics there.
But I'm not sure its a good idea to encourage bears to expand as far south as I-20
transfixer
Senior Member
Unless they are talking about middle or south Georgia, yes, I would think it is, they are already showing up in Acworth, Dallas and other suburbs, if the population continues to grow in N Ga it will become a problem when they start rummaging through all the trash cans in the subdivisions.
Christian hughey
Senior Member
Rummage my way I will keep an arrow knocked!
Christian hughey
Senior Member
I hunt the Oconee national forest in jasper county on the ocmulgee river. There is a growing population not far in twiggs co. down river approx 30 mi. You would think with the populations stabilizing North, mid, and south ga we would see some. Couple years ago I thought I saw one right at dark and told myself it had to be a hog but the way it moved told me bear. This past year I read an article in gon about the bear cub found by bird hunters in jasper co. on the Oconee. Kinda confirmed my bear theory. So in my opinion i believe they slowly but surely are expanding and another game animal in the woods down here is ok with me. My compliant would be the impact it would have on our deer fawn recruitment by another predator roaming the deer woods.
