More bears will be game for Wisconsin hunters this year after the harvest rebounded last fall, exceeding the state’s quota.
On Wednesday, the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board approved a 6 percent increase in the quota to 4,075 bears. The board also signed off on state wildlife regulators’ recommendations to raise the number of licenses issued by 14 percent to just more than 13,000.
Hunters killed about 4,300 bears last year, according to figures from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The harvest was up almost 47 percent from the 2,922 bears harvested last season, surpassing the state’s quota by about 12 percent.
DNR Large Carnivore Specialist Randy Johnson said the 2023 season was an anomaly, noting state-licensed hunters typically kill about 4,000 bears annually.
“We have no reason to believe this level of harvest is likely to cause long-term biological impacts to the bear population. In fact, by all measures, the population is stable or even growing in all of our bear zones,” Johnson told the board.
Wisconsin had about 23,000 bears last year across its six bear management zones. In 2024, state-licensed hunters went beyond their quota in four zones. Johnson added that hunters have exceeded targets for the last five or six years in Zone A, which includes Douglas and Bayfield counties in far northwestern Wisconsin.
Overharvest has prompted concerns from Wisconsin’s Ojibwe tribes that the trend has become normalized, according to the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, or GLIFWC. Tribes typically harvest about 30 to 50 bears each year, and the commission previously called for action to move toward more timely zone closures to avoid overharvest.
“Communication between the state and Ojibwe tribes on makwa (bear) stewardship has improved since last season,” GLIFWC spokesperson Charlie Rasmussen said. “GLIFWC is looking forward to working with the state on fostering a healthy makwa population far into the future.”
The DNR and its bear advisory committee examine bear conflicts, harvest and health in relation to population trends as they set quotas each year. The number of licenses issued are based on the average success rates of hunters.
The Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association and the Wisconsin Conservation Congress, a citizens advisory group that advises the board and the DNR, supported the changes for this year’s bear harvest.
“WCC feels the permit levels recommended are appropriate given the goals, current population estimates and success rates identified utilizing the best available science,” WCC Chair Rob Bohmann told the board.
The Wisconsin Animal Protection Society opposed the agency’s recommendations.
Stay informed on the latest news
Sign up for WPR’s email newsletter.
Natural Resources Board member Doug Cox, former chair of the Menominee Indian Tribe, said he supported the agency’s harvest target and permit levels. Even so, he questioned what factors may be driving overharvest in northern Wisconsin and whether advancements in the range of GPS collars used by hound hunters may play a role in greater success.
“Hearing of concerns, particularly from the Voigt tribes, looking at those things going forward and addressing some of the abilities to prevent an overharvest to that extent might help those concerns as well,” Cox said.
Cox was referring to Ojibwe tribes that are members of the Voigt Intertribal Task Force, which recommends tribal regulations on off-reservation lands in ceded territory.
Johnson said about 70 percent of bears are killed by hunters using bait, such as sweets, breads or grains. About one third are killed with the use of dogs.
The higher quota and permit levels come as the state is seeing more people applying for bear licenses or preference points, which hunters can build up to increase chances of winning lottery drawings for a license. The agency received about 135,000 applications for licenses or preference points last year.
“We’re going against the trend that we see in most other species,” Johnson said.
Johnson said most hunters eat the meat as a protein source or render bear fat into cooking oil.
Natural Resources Board Chair Bill Smith said bear meat is absolutely delicious.
“It’s a healthy and very good tasting wild game, and I encourage anybody to give it a try,” Smith said.
The vast majority of people hunting bears in Wisconsin are state residents.
Wisconsin Public Radio, © Copyright 2025, Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Educational Communications Board.
