SUCCESS STORY

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The Florida Black Bear - A Success StoryDo You Know How The Bear Got Off The Endangered Species List?

The Bears’ Road to Success - Timeline

  • Until the mid 1930 bears were unprotected
  • 1950 the bear was changed to a game animal
  • 1971 bear hunting season was closed statewide, except in Baker & Columbia county and during GFC managed hunts in Apalachicola NF, Osceola NF
  • 1974 bear was listed as threatened, but bear hunting season remained open in some areas
  • 1981 - 1994 several changes were made to bear hunting regulations in order to minimize the number of females and young in the harvest
  • In mid 1990s bears were at their lowest point
  • 1994 FL first wildlife underpass was created on state road 46 and is reducing vehicle related mortality there
  • 2002 FWC passes a rule that made feeding bears illegal
  • 2005 FWC assesses impact of roads on bears, incl. population estimates for bears in 6 subpopulations
  • 2007 FWC creates a Bear Action Team to draft statewide bear management plan
  • -> the plan creates Bear Management Units (BMU) based on the seven geographically distinct bear subpopulations in FL
  • June 2011 bear is removed from the state threatened species list
  • FWC and partners identified important wildlife habitats and work with private landowners to keep those lands in conservation

What is being done today?

  • Data is collected to monitor bear subpopulations -> each subpopulation should at least have 200 mature individuals to maintain genetic health and chance for long term survival
  • Bear subpopulations are managed to maintain their numbers at or above current levels -> Habitat connectivity
  • Clear criteria is determined for categorizing habitat quality & potential suitable habitat
  • Bear habitat on public and private lands is managed
  • Efforts are undertaken to mitigate human/bear conflict
  • Education & Outreach efforts -> statewide educational efforts teach thousands of people each year about bears and how to avoid conflicts
  • Formal education programs like the FL Black Bear curriculum guide bring bear issues directly into the schools
  • Translocation projects are considered for areas where bear populations are too large to be supported

Sources:
Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Bear Management Plan.