Green Mountain National Forest boasts 350,000 acres of public land, much of which is open to bear hunting.

The White River Basin, the Chittenden Brook Basin and the Texas Gap area, all in the Rochester Ranger District and the Cobb Hill and Beaver Meadows areas, Sucker Brook Basin, the Hogback Mountain area and Leicester Hollow area in the Middlebury District are all considered prime bear-hunting areas.

There are also some excellent hunting opportunities for bears in WMU F2, which produced 24 bears in 2004. This is essentially western Addison County, which includes part of the Green Mountain National Forest.

Maps to these hotspots, information on road access, trails in the area and other helpful information may be obtained by contacting the Middlebury Ranger District at (802) 338-4362 or the Rochester Ranger District at (802) 767-4261.

For information on other areas in the national forest, or for general information, contact the forest supervisor at (802) 747-6700.

The bear season in Vermont this year is tentatively scheduled to run from Sept. 1 through Nov. 16. Hunters should keep in mind that baiting is not allowed in Vermont, but hounds may be used to hunt bears.

For more information, contact Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, 103 South Main St., Waterbury, VT 05671-0501; call (802) 241-3700, or visit the Web site at www.vtfishandwildlife.com. Be sure to ask for the free Vermont Hunting Guide Map.

NEW HAMPSHIRE
According to Andrew Timmins, Bear Project leader for the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, 679 bears were harvested in the Granite State in 2004. That figure was down 15 percent from 2003, when over 800 bears were killed, but was 30 percent higher than the five-year average. The 2004 tally was also the second-highest statewide harvest ever.

Baiting and hounds are legal for bear hunting in New Hampshire, but prospects this year will depend on the availability of natural foods.

According to Timmins, mast production was poor in 2003 and 2004, "which caused bears to broaden their search for food, with the result being increased hunting vulnerability."

For the past couple of years, the bear-hunting season framework in New Hampshire has been designed to reduce bear populations in the White Mountain (WMR) and Central (CR) regions, and to stabilize populations in the Northern (NR) and Southern regions (SR).

As a consequence, the general baiting and hound-hunting seasons are longer in the WMR and CR, but shorter in the NR and SR. Parts of the Southern Region have no hound season.

The effort seems to be working. The White Mountain and Central regions have produced the most bears in New Hampshire for two years running (227 bears and 177 bears in 2004, respectively). The White Mountain Region takes in wildlife management units C1, D2, E and F, basically everything in Grafton, Carroll and southern Coos counties north of Lake Winnipesaukee to Route 110 north of Berlin.

At more than 760,000 acres, the White Mountain National Forest is the state's largest tract of public land. Except near campgrounds and a few other designated areas, the forest is open to hunting. Some of the best bear habitat in the state will be found there, as well as one of the highest bear densities, estimated at 0.89 bears per square mile. Baiting is allowed by special permit from the forest supervisor, as is hounding. Hunting near natural food sources is productive as well.

For information on hunting the forest, campgrounds and other details, contact the forest supervisor in Laconia at (603) 528-8721; or visit the agency's Web site at www.fs.fed.us/r9/white.

WMUs G, I1, J1 and J2 make up the Central Region, which stretches from the Vermont border to Maine, including the territory south of the White Mountain region, plus the Lakes Region, along with southern Grafton County, all of Belknap County and southern Carroll County.