Outdoor Almanac
OWAA - "Best in Radio"

NJ.Supreme Court cancels bear hunt

By TOM BALDWIN Gannett State Bureau TRENTON

The State Supreme Court Wednesday finally scrapped New Jersey's controversial bear hunt that was to begin at dawn Monday, gladdening many while some hunters warned of newly dangerous encounters with the burgeoning bear population.

"Denied," said Chief Justice James Zazzali in his refusal to hear an emergency appeal by hunters' groups.

"I am happy to know the issue for this year is behind us and we can concentrate on implementing the nonlethal methods" of managing the bear population, said Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Lisa Jackson.

She added, though, that she needs more money and does not know from where it will come. "We basically have to go back to the treasurer. We have had a commitment for about a million dollars. . . . We have not received the money yet," Jackson said.

"As far as the 2006 hunt is concerned, this is the end of the road," said Doug Burdin, lawyer for the Washington, D.C.-based hunting and environmental group Safari Club International. Safari Club and others had hoped the court would hear their appeal that Jackson lacked authority to suspend the hunt.

Jackson had followed through on the wishes of Gov. Jon S. Corzine, himself a onetime hunter, to scrap the hunt while looking at nonlethal ways to control the bear population.

New Jersey, the nation's most densely populated state, has some 3,000 or more bears that are increasingly coming into contact with humans. Most of the bears live in the northwest counties though the animals have been spotted statewide.

Said Jeff Tittel of the Sierra Club environmental group, "We expected the court to do what it did," adding the club does not oppose hunting but wants the nonlethal avenues tried.

State Sen. Robert Littell, R-Franklin, Sussex County, who serves as the dean of the north-country lawmakers, has complained that Corzine panders to the legions of New Jerseyans who oppose hunting ideologically, though they work and live in areas where they do not have to deal with wild game.

"A controlled hunt is the only practical and scientifically valid approach to management of the state's over-population of bears," said Littell, adding the court's move has "potentially dangerous ramifications."

http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art