D26—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 28,1981
COUDERSPORT Wildlife
conservation officers at check
stations tagged 921 bears that were
taken by hunters during Penn
sylvania’s one-day season in 1980,
the final compilation by the Game
Commission shows
The figure for the November 24
season is sumassaH h» non
bears that were harvested by
hunters in the Keystone State in
the 1924 season However, the 1924
season opened on November 1 and
closed on December 15.
In 1979, Pennsylvania hunters
tagged 736 bears over the age of
one year, while an undetermined
number of brums which were less
than a year old were also taken
Although the number of bears
taken during the two most recent
seasons may seem at first glance
to be rather high, it must be
remembered that there was no
open season for bears in the state
in 1977 and 1978
Pennsylvania was one of the first
states in the nation to protect black
bears, initially imposing
restrictions on harvests in 1905
Over the years, harvests of
bruins had generally been high
every other year This was
believed to have been because
females ordinarily give birth to
cubs only every other year But in
1966 and 1967 hunters harvested 605
and 568 bears, respectively
This was followed by several
years of comparatively low har
vests, only 218 and. 295 bears When
it appeared that the total
population had declined, the
season was closed in 1970
In 1971, during a two-day season,
the population was reduced by 488
animals Since 1972, one-day
seasons have been used when
FRANK A.
FILLIPPO, INC.
DISABLED &
CRIPPLED COWS,
BULLS & STEERS
Competitive Prices
j Slaughtered under
government inspection
Residence -215-
Elom Ginder - 717
C.L. King -717-7
seasons have been opened tor
hunting
Lower harvests were recorded
from 1972 through 1975, but after
the high harvest of 605 in 1976, the
Game Commission closed the
season for several years to permit
the population to rebuild.
As a result of the changes in
harvests,
closures, the cycle of high harvests
every other year appears to have
been broken
The most pi uuutu *»
bear hunters in 1980 were Clinton,
85; Tioga, 81, Elk, 77; McKean, 76,
Lycoming, 74; Pike, 66; and
Clearfield, 65
Hunters removed only 16 percent
of the previously-marked bears in
the Northeast Division, but 25
percent in the Northcentral
Division, 11 percent in the Nor
thwest Division, and 25 percent in
the Southcentral Division
Statewide, the removal rate of
previously-identified bears was 20
percent To maintain a stable bear
population, hunters need to
remove 20 to 25 percent of the
bruins annually.
In 1979, the removal rate of
previously-marked bears was 22
percent In the 1976 season, 33
percent of the previously-identified
bears were taken by hunters
The decline in the removal rate
of bears indicates that tne number
of bears is not declining on a
statewide basis, and, in fact, may
be increasing slightly
However, regional and county
removal rates of previously
marked bears tell a somewhat
different story and are requiring
wildlife managers to take another
look at bear management options
The number of bears seems to be
WANTED
Paid
Call:
Frank Fillip
Hunters tag 921
season lengths and
stable in the northcentral part of
the state as a whole
However, high removal rates in
some counties lead wildlife
managers to believe bear numbers
in certain important areas are
declining
On the other hand, the low
removal rates of bears in nor
theastern counties in general, and
the Poconos in particular, indicate
that bears in that part of the state
are on the increase, and there soon
»’h he major problems in terms of
Spinner spreader
COLDWATER, Oh - A new
tractor-mounted spinner spreader
from Avco New Idea, the Model
107, has a steamless steel hopper
with a 10 5 cu ft. capacity
The hopper can hold 690 pounds
ot teriihzel ui 8 s bushels ot seed
and features a base of cast iron for
durability against abrasive fer
tilizer The spinner and shutter are
stainless steel
The Model 107 spreads up to 32 8 They feature sealed bar bearings
feet and has 10 shutter settings A LABEL CHANGES
material agitator helps insure Several label changes have been
uniform feeding of materials approved for Temik 15G aldicarb
Two new 800 senes power units pesticide, according to Union
have been added to the Uni System Carbide
line by Avco New Idea The Model Federal registration has lowered
800 is rated at 138 horsepower and the recommended rate for control
the Model 802 at 175 horsepower °l the soybean cyst nematode to 10
Both have a new electronic to 20 pounds per acre from the
tachometer and additional work previous 14 to 20 pounds Band
and headlights width requirements have been
Another new production in- reduced to six to eight inches from
troduction is a wider pair of 95- the previous Bto 12 inches
bears
nuisance and garbage bears,
damages to bees and bee-keeping
equipment, etc
The Game Commission is
hopeful that the legislature this
year will create a bear hunting
license which would enable the
agency to control numbers and
locations of hunters and size of
harvests, as well as populations
This would help reduce the number
of problems and level out some of
the mghs and lows in beai
pi oduction and mortality
Business News
foot rakes The baskets on the
Model 406, left hand version, and
the Model 407, right hand version,
are suspended to reduce bounce
An analysis of the 1980 harvest
shows that more than 62 percent of
the bears were taken between 7
and 10 30 a m
More than 400 bears were bet
ween 100 and 200 pounds in weight
Fourteen bears weighed between
400 and 450 pounds, and two bears
weighed over 525 pounds
Bruins were taken in all 29
counties open to bear hunting The
sex ratio in the 1980 harvest was
about equal, there were 453 males
and 468 females taken -
announced
DIRECTORS NAMED
Two worldwide marketing
positions have been announced by
the Hesston Corporation James D
Gaeddert has been named director
of sales and Frank I Chandler has
been named director of product
management
DEALER HONORED
Mr and Mrs Harry Gundrum, of
the Walker Company, Gap, were
among nearly 110 Wayne Feed
dealers who were honored at Allied
Mills 1981 President s Marketing
Council business seminar They
received a plaque tor outstanding
marketing services during the past
year