Maps, directions and other particulars on all WMAs in the state may be explored or downloaded from the MassWildlife Web site at www.state.ma.us/dfwele/dfw.

In order of harvest, Hampden County produced 33 bears in 2004, Franklin County produced 30 bears and Hampshire County (between the two) produced 27 bears. Worcester County produced no bears, according to Cardoza, which is surprising considered the growing bear density in that area.

"Worcester County has quite a bit of good bear habitat," the biologist said. "There are lots more bears there than many hunters realize, and the county offers plenty of public land on which to hunt."

This year's bear seasons will take place Sept. 6-24 and Nov. 21-26. A special bear-hunting license in addition to a regular hunting license is required.

For more information on bear-hunting opportunities in Massachusetts, contact the MassWildlife offices at 1 Rabbit Hill Road, Westborough, MA 01581; call (508) 792-7270, or visit the agency's Web site as noted above.

VERMONT
Vermont hunters had another great bear season in 2004, harvesting 718 bears statewide. According to Tom Decker, who is in charge of the state's bear research team, last year was the second consecutive year with high harvest levels, and as a consequence, biologists will likely be making recommendations to the Fish and Wildlife Board to reduce the harvest this fall. Hunters should make a point to check the latest regulations for possible changes in season dates.

According to Decker, Vermont does not collect bear harvest data on a county-by-county basis but via wildlife management units (WMU). By looking at the various WMUs, however, it is possible to locate the top counties in 2004 and get a good handle on where to look for bears this season. These same units/counties have consistently produced the highest numbers of bears in recent years.

For the past several years, the top WMU bear harvests in Vermont have occurred in the Northeast Kingdom. This includes WMUs C (37 bears in 2004), D1 (65 bears), D2 (91 bears), E (66 bears), H1 (42 bears) and H2 (34 bears). These units are in eastern Franklin County, Orleans and Essex counties, part of Lamoille County and northern and central Caledonia County. Combined, these units/counties produced 335 bears in 2004, nearly half of the total statewide harvest.

This part of Vermont is home to some of the state's best bear habitat, which is the primary reason for the high annual harvest. Much of this habitat is on large tracts of undeveloped lands where access may be limited to logging roads. The region boasts an impressive list of public lands open to hunting, including the 15,800-acre Victory State Forest in Essex County, 7,300-acre Willoughby State Forest in Sutton, Westmore and Newark and 22,500-acre West Mountain WMA in Maidstone, Brunswick and Ferdinand, also in Essex County.

Vermont is home to eighty WMAs totaling more than 118,000 acres. Many are in the top bear counties and offer at least some kind of road access, with additional undeveloped roads or trails to remote areas with good bear habitat. Maps of the state's WMAs may be researched and downloaded off the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department's Web site.

WMU B, largely in Franklin County, produced 26 bears last year, and is a good spot to consider.

Prime bear habitat continues down through the center of Vermont, into WMUs G (25 bears in 2004), I (49 bears), J1 (30 bears), J2 (41 bears), L (19 bears), M1 (15 bears), O1 (15 bears), O2 (13 bears) and on to the Massachusetts border to WMUs P (40 bears) and Q (18 bears). These areas are in or part of Washington, Orange, Rutland, Windsor, Bennington and Windam counties and basically follow the backbone of the Green Mountains.