Talk about harrassment.

A release printed in the New Jersey Herald, Newton, N.J., 9/28/08 Quotes Corzine as making the following statement:

 

Calling it a “real and present issue”, Governor Jon Corzine said Friday there probably won’t be a change in the state policy that prohibits a black bear hunt.

Corzine said the number of black bears was only a problem” If you want to call it that”. He then stood by Department of Environmental Protection’s position that better waste and garbage management will reduce the incidents of bear-human contact. 

“A lot of the problem is perception,” Corzine said. ‘There are less intrusions” and most complaints are simply sightings and confined to a small part of the state. 

The Herald noted however, that figures released last month showed the number of serious incidents involving bears were doubled this year over last year. In fact, all reports clearly indicate that this is the worst year of black bear problems including (56) house break-ins. 

For complete, proven factual information simply surf back through this website to learn just how serious the New Jersey black bear problem is. 

Governor Corzine’s remarks can be clearly compared to the anti-hunting/animal-rights evaluation of the bear problem. It was almost like having one of their representatives making the remarks. 

A “small” part of the state? Only a problem “if you want to call it that”? Now this is a good one, bears breaking into houses, ransacking kitchens’ for food, killing domestic pets and livestock, posing such a serious threat to humans that mothers are waiting at bus stops to see their children safely off to school, tax paid for backyards no longer safely available for recreation, bear monitors on school play grounds to spot roaming bears, bear safety drills so children can safely be shuffled back into the school when bears approach the area, people carrying bear spray or other means of protection when walking dogs, gardening or maintaining their properties.

It walks like a wild bear, it destroys like a wild bear, it threatens like a wild bear, it poses a real threat to human safety, like a wild bear, yes you can “call that a real problem”. 

If you will take a moment to read through the lines here you will quickly discover that Governor Corzine is “listening” to the anti’s and still ignoring the New Jersey Division Fish&Wildlife, state biologists and his (26) other fellow Governors, both Republican and Democrat, by the way that allow their professionals to determine the wildlife management policies of their states rather emotional liars. 

Here is the problem in a nutshell; Politicians’ count votes and the anti’s have them convinced that supporters of a hunt are the approximate 130,000 licensed sportsmen in N.J. They cite this as less than 1% of the over 8 million N.J. residents.

Then they break this down to 130,000 trophy hunting, blood thirsty killers just looking to put a black bear rug on their floors or a head on the wall. 

The anti’s have support from similar groups from around the country, groups that other than in N.J. have failed in their attempts to undermine the professionals of F&W, biologists. Therefore, N.J. is a sort of “last stand” for their ill advised cause. 

What Governor Corzine does not see, is that the support of hunting is far greater than just licensed hunters, it has the backing of millions of N.J. citizens. In addition, Governor Corzine seems to shrug off “the small part of the state” Sussex County in particular, just for your interest a mainly Republican county at that. 

The economy is as you all know in shambles; cuts are being made everywhere and sadly in much more important places than we would like to see. Yet N.J. continues to waste time and much needed money on this black bear issue. 

To be completely redundant to my other articles, we have eight (8) years history. In the two years, 2003 and 2005 in which the state came to its senses and allowed a black bear hunt the following years the actual black bear intrusive activity went down. After each year of the cancelled hunts the intrusive black bear activity went back up.

This year 2008 after three (3) years of no hunting we have reached a “documented”, all time high, of negative black bear activity including the (56) house break-ins. All through these years garbage control and educating the public along with adverse conditioning of the bears has been in place and practiced. How many more years of experience do we need? 

How then can a Governor make these statements even to go as far as downplaying the actual severity of intrusive behavior? Answer: He is being totally duped by the anti-hunting/animal-rights rhetoric.

Let’ face it does anyone really believe that Governor Corzine with all of the financial problems and concerns running the state really has the time to sit down and properly analyze the “wild black bear”? 

His advisors and inexperienced DEP Commissioner, Lisa Jackson is listening to the loudest voices and those voices are those of the anti’s. 

It took a near fatal accident for Governor Corzine to realize the value of seat belts and observing speed limits, we need to reach out to him so he can see the need for allowing the F&G, biologists to manage the states wildlife and we need to do this before another tragedy, like a human being seriously mauled or killed by a black bear takes place. 

We need to tell him that we have a basic “human-right” to expect a safe haven in our own backyards and the kitchens and garages of our tax-paid for property, at bus stops, in schoolyards and public recreation parks and land. In essence, we expect and pay for the safe use of our property and the state is expected to take whatever action is necessary to insure that safety. 

Since when is a problem in a ‘SMALL PART OF THE STATE” not really a problem? More important the problem is not confined to just a small part of the state as intrusions have taken place all over the state. 

This is just such frustrating non-sense it is hard to imagine that any intelligent person cannot understand that we live in a developing state wherein the black bear population is thriving and going over the states natural land carrying capacity. 

“Better waste and garbage management” will have absolutely no impact at this time in reducing and/or containing the black bear population or intrusive behavior.  

“Janet Piszar, one of the anti’s funneling misleading information to the Governor and DEP stated this non-sense logic; bears are now forced to forever live in fragmented habitat surrounded by human environments’. If bear attractants: garbage, bird seeds, pet and livestock food remain and 40% of the bears are killed, what will prevent the remaining 60% from being lured by those same attractants?” 

Janet Piszar, or her followers, if by chance you can read try this; stop misleading everyone before it is too late; you know fully well that if we reduce the black bear population through hunting by 40%, that opens up the thousands of acres of natural habitat for the other 60% to retreat to. Hunting then becomes “true” adverse conditioning as the “smart black bears” as you always brag they are, will associate humans with death, theirs not ours. It will not take long for the black bear to “fear” human contact and return to their shy, timid, non-intrusive behavior and now less occupied by black bear territory. 

Legal hunting lands both public and private are close enough to developed areas where hunting will definitely impact problem bears. This is especially true in Vernon and West Milford where state land joins many backyards.

Legal hunters are not 130,000 as they have support to pursue hunting from millions of citizens in N.J. Twenty-six (26) other states including California cannot be wrong they just put emotions and personal agendas aside and place “human-safety/human-rights” before “wild, dangerous, intrusive animal rights”.  

All supporters of hunting as wildlife management control; Contact the Governor, let him hear the truth from all citizens, we need to reduce the black bear population, hunting is the only proven method, hunters are actually agents of the state performing wild life management, bow hunters and gun hunters together are not the problem they are the solution; guess what they generate revenue as well.

Mike D

As we go through the worst year ever of black bear problems in New Jersey with (56) direct house break-ins and over (1372) nuisance complaints, pets and domestic livestock killed we have to have highlighted by a Verona, N.J. resident an accident in the state of Washington wherein a (14) year old bear hunter shot and killed a hiker.

This tragic hunting accident although rare should result in this person never being able to hunt again, and being punished accordingly by law, as this type of incident should carry “no-second-chances”.

The (14) and (16) year old hunters were dropped off by their grandfather and left to hunt alone another mistake in judgment by the adult grandparent and parents that may have trusted his judgment.

Some talk has been made at the type of clothing worn by the hiker while using trails during the hunting season. This should not even be a consideration, although the bright orange safety clothes color is a plus no one human should be shot in the head being mistaken for a bear.

That being said, this is no reason to make a comparison to our black bear problem in N.J. nor to jump on the “hunters just want to kill something” rhetoric, nor to quote, “feel pity for the families of these two-legged creatures.”

Here we go again, take a rare occurrence and yes tragedy and use that to justify (56) house break-ins, over (1372) nuisance complaints, domestic and livestock killings and the increased dangers of the overpopulated N.J. black bear. 

Pity belongs to two legged people like this Verona resident far removed from the N.J. problem black bear areas, far removed from the daily dangers faced by people living in the heart of black bear country; pity to a person so quickly willing to put down all hunters for the act of one.

The black bear problems in N.J. are not just one; they are numerous as verified by factual reports of incidents by victims and newspapers. The fact that we have humans attacked but not killed to date is not an excuse for allowing the black bear to continue multiplying until that inevitable day happens.

In this country, especially after 911, we have learned to read warning signs and to take action to “avoid” tragedies’ “before” they occur. The black bear dangers are a boiling pot waiting to flow over and if citizens like this Verona resident are allowed to “read the signs” and then dismiss them, we are in trouble.

Lastly from this Verona residents letter the anti’s misleading statement; “In the 2005 N.J. bear hunt a woman with a camera was documenting a blood trail and a gutted bear while shotgun bearing hunters angrily told her she was intimidating them as they couldn’t get to their trophies”.

The woman was Angie Metler, known anti hunter who was actually caught with this camera on a sting operation that resulted in jail time and fines for deliberately attempting to disrupt a legal hunt. 
 
 
 

As for the hunters trying to get to their trophies, black bears are not trophies, they are nuisance criminals that break into houses and garages, kill domestic pets and livestock, destroy food crops and infringe on New Jersey taxpayers rights to use tax paid for private and public property. They are an increasing threat to human safety; they are defended by animal-right and anti-hunter fruitcakes that somehow believe that animal rights come before human rights, that until a human in N.J. is actually killed by a black bear we should ignore everything else they do and more importantly ignore the warning signs given by none other than the BLACK BEARS themselves. 

Just imagine, wait for a tragedy before we take action, how tragic is that? 

This is especially true of the Bear Education and Resource Group (B.E.A.R.) ONCE HEADED BY Lynda Smith and now taken over by well know anti-hunter Janet Piszar.

This is the most misleading group of individuals in the state that even went as far as bringing in a “so-called” bear expert, Steven Searles from California then duped the local papers into covering his story and recommendations several years ago warning N.J. against a black bear hunt. Searles it was found, was a once hunter, trapper, carpenter that assisted the local authorities in Lake Mammoth, CA (10) square mile resort of houses and condos’ to chase out roaming bears from the resort areas where hunting was impossible. In fact, CA holds two plus month black bear hunts to cull approximately (1700) bears annually.

B.E.A.R. also uses comments from Doctor Lynn Rodgers, bear expert and “entrepreneur”, that runs a bear retreat of a (4) day bed and breakfast and walk with the bears (food conditioned pets) for approximately $1000.00 a pop.

Lynda Smith did a good deed with revisiting garbage education, but the NJDF&W had similar information available on their website for years. Problem here is “garbage” security will not lower the black bear population to a “safe co-existing number”

Lynda Smith however had real compassion for the black bear and within that passion could not bring herself to cope with legal hunting as the only proven management tool. Janet Piszar on the other hand is a well know anti-hunter whatever the species and using the black bear to further her anti-hunting platform. 

Ironically, hunters are the true animal rights people, as they along with the criticized NJDF&W were responsible for working together to give us the healthy black bear population of the 1990’s and it was the anti’s that thwarted, in part through politics, the continuing management required in the 2000 to 2008 era to maintain that healthy balance. 

The black bear problem in New Jersey will not go away until a hunt is held as part of wildlife management population control and watch out Verona resident the expansion of the black bear could reach you soon then we will see how much love of wildlife you have. See how you feel about letting your children go outside, how it feels to give up the freedom of your tax-paid for backyards, how it feels to look over your shoulder while simply planting flowers or taking a walk down the streets of bear invested areas. 

You won’t and you may never know because people like you are selfish and concerned only about issues that do not affect you. For those like you living in bear country with this attitude, human life just doesn’t measure up to wildlife, how sad is that? 

Mike D