The bear season is now open and will run through Dec. 31. Hunters play an essential role in collecting management information for sustainable bear populations. However, Cherokee Natural Resources averages about three harvest submissions per year. Last year, only a single submission easily won the draw and the numbers are not sufficient to inform the management.
Please report your take to Cherokee Natural Resources along with the first premolar tooth (or allow staff to extract it) to determine age. Freeze or keep other samples on ice that could decompose. If possible, keep an eraser sized (or bigger) piece of meat frozen.
The program also wishes to collect weight, location, sex and the effort it took to harvest (number of hunters in party and hours put in). This data will help the program understand how important hunting is to bears and how it keeps damage issues in check. There will be a $500 draw from those that submit samples and information.
Submit samples and information to the Cherokee Natural Resources office at 1840 Painttown Road, next to Cherokee Tribal Bingo. Call or email us if you have questions: ebcifw@gmail.com, 359-6110
– Cherokee Natural Resources
