Photo by T.C. Flanigan

By all counts and measures, black bears in New England are doing well. According to biologists in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, bear numbers are not only increasing, bruins are expanding their range in some jurisdictions.

Despite a slight decline in the bear population in Vermont because of high harvests in recent years (hunters have been racking up record or near-record harvests throughout the region), bear numbers remain strong there. Maine voters retained the traditional baiting and hounding seasons, defeating a referendum last November that would have banned both practices. Meanwhile, bears are becoming more common in the state's central and southern counties.

New England's bear-hunting opportunities are better now than ever before. According to biologists in Massachusetts, bears are known to exist in central and northern Worcester County, and may be roaming south to the Connecticut and Rhode Island border. The same is true in parts of New Hampshire, particularly the southwest and southeast regions, where harvests have been on the rise in recent years.

All things considered, bear hunters have reason to be optimistic this fall. Here are some of the best counties to look for a trophy bruin this season.

MASSACHUSETTS
With a bear population currently estimated at 1,500 animals, bears are doing well in Massachusetts. It is believed the population is increasing by 8 to10 percent annually, according to Jim Cardoza, the state's Bear Project leader. However, it is believed that the state's bear population is actually much higher. A field survey is planned for this summer to update population figures.

Bears are starting to show up in some of the state's more urban areas, and MassWildlife strongly recommends that the feeding of birds with suet and sunflower seeds be curtailed annually by April 1 to prevent conflicts and problems with humans, which invariably end badly for the bear.

Hunters took 146 bears in Massachusetts during the 2004 hunting seasons. That total is slightly less than the 153 bears taken in 2003, but is the second-highest total since 1992. It is also the fourth straight year that more than 100 bears have been harvested in the state.

Much of the best bear habitat in Massachusetts is found west of the Connecticut River, particularly in Berkshire County, and that is where more than half of the annual harvest occurs each year. There is also some good habitat to the east in Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden counties.

Since 1992, these western counties have consistently produced nearly all of the black bears harvested in the state.

Topping the list in 2004 was Berkshire County, along the border with New York straddling the Connecticut River, where hunters took 56 bears. Berkshire County was also the leader in 2003, when hunters took 66 bears.

Berkshire County has led or tied all other counties in bear harvests since 1996. The reason is simple: Not only is Berkshire one of the least populated counties in the state, it is also home to some of the state's largest unbroken forest tracts. Factor in some of the state's largest agricultural areas and you have the recipe for some prime bear habitat.

Another reason is that there are plenty of places to hunt in this part of the state. Berkshire County is home to about 40 of the state's 102 wildlife management areas (WMAs), natural heritage areas and wildlife conservation easements (WCE). Nearly all are open to hunting and many are frequented by bears. Combined, these public areas offer more than 38,000 acres of hunting territory.

Included are some of the state's largest public lands, such as Chalet WMA in Chester, Dalton and Windsor; the Peru WMA in Peru and Windsor and the Fox Den WMA in Worthington, Middlefield and Chester. These three areas cover 14,789 acres, and bears can be found on all of them.