DEC Announces 2020 Bear Harvest Totals

[Steve D]

New York State bear hunters took 1,723 black bears during the 2020 hunting seasons, Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos announced today.

Hunters took an estimated 1,152 bears in the Southern Zone, comparable to the record set in 2019, and 11 percent greater than the recent five-year average. While take in the regular season was lower than last year, hunters had record success during the early and bow seasons.

In the Northern Zone, hunters harvested an estimated 571 bears-the highest number since 2015. A productive early season in the Northern Zone is generally followed by a relatively low regular season harvest, with the reverse anticipated in the year to come. The 2020 bear harvest followed this pattern, with an early season harvest that increased four-fold from 2019, and a regular season harvest that dropped approximately 25 percent from 2019 numbers.

and a complete summary of the 2020 bear harvest with results (PDF) in your region, visit DEC's website.