As Bear Numbers Double, Vermont is Looking to Hunters This Fall 🐻

Welcome to the Wednesday edition of the newsletter. If you’re still with us, that means you’ve made it to the middle of yet another week.

With that said, let’s all take a minute to grab a coffee or whiskey and get this mid-week dispatch out the door.

Here's what's worth reading about this morning:

MAKES PERFECT SENSE
AS BEAR NUMBERS DOUBLE, VERMONT IS LOOKING TO HUNTERS THIS FALL

The black bear population in Vermont is beginning to balloon out of control and well past the state’s own management objective. As conflicts increase and officials inevitably put down dozens of ‘problem bears’ each year, this particular northeastern wildlife agency is approaching the situation as if it is a real problem instead of an opportunity for more press releases about “coexistence.”

As it currently stands in the Green Mountain State, official estimates put the state’s black bear population somewhere between 6,800 and 8,000 animals. The official objective in the state’s Big Game Management Plan is 3,500 to 5,500, meaning Vermont is carrying roughly double the number of bears it has decided is sustainable from both a biological and social standpoint.

And unlike certain other states that have spent the last decade pretending higher bear numbers are an unalloyed good (read: New Jersey and Connecticut), Vermont Fish & Wildlife is thankfully acknowledging the obvious…

NY Hunting Licenses Now Available for 2026-27 Season: Hunters can purchase licenses online, by phone or in person from a license-issuing agent. The state Department of Environmental Conservation has also adopted new deer hunting regulations that change the Deer Management Permit application process and allow hunters to transfer an unlimited number of DMPs to one another. Read the full story. 

There are now new requirements to get hunting and fishing licenses in Texas: Under new Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) rules that took effect Monday, Texans and other customers ages 17+ must now show valid identification to purchase a recreational hunting or fishing license. Read the full story.

Officials urge deer hunters to help slow spread of chronic wasting disease in North Carolina: The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission is inviting hunters, landowners and residents to an informational meeting this month following the recent detection of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in Edgecombe County. Read the full story.

The challenge of hunting Maryland's 'marsh ghosts': Sika are a tiny elk species brought from Japan (via England) to the Chesapeake Bay tributaries of Maryland’s Eastern Shore. While populations have established in numerous countries outside Asia thanks to the exotic animal trade, this is one of the few places in North America where you can hunt a wild population of sika fair chase, rather than on a ranch or preserve. Read the full story.

White Marlin Open Day 2 in OCMD has epic tuna catches, more: Catch all the action of this year’s White Marlin Open as told through pictures. Read the full story.

Pennsylvania hunters donate record amount of venison to families in need: Pennsylvania hunters set a new state record by donating 294,844 pounds of venison during the 2025-26 hunting season. The donations provided approximately 1.2 million servings of venison to families facing food insecurity, according to Hunters Sharing the Harvest.  Read the full story.

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