NJDEP Division of Fish & Wildlife - Black Bear Hunting Season Information

New Jersey's Black Bear Hunting Season

2017 SEASON DATES
Segment A, Archery: October 9 -14
Segment A, Archery and Muzzleloader: October 12-14
Segment B, Firearm: December 4-9 and 13-16

Harvest Information

General Information

All hunters are reminded to observe the 450-foot "Safety Zone" distance around buildings and playgrounds when firearm hunting.

The New Jersey black bear hunting season has been held concurrently with the Six-day Firearm Deer Season since 2010. Beginning in 2016 there are two segments to the bear season: Segment A in October, with the first three days (October 9-11, 2017) for archery only; the final three days (October 12-14, 2017) for both archery and muzzleloading rifle hunters. Segment B is for firearms only and is held concurrently with the Six-day Firearm Deer Season (December 4-9, 2017); there is the option for the season to be extended the following week if harvest objectives are not met.

Participants are required to have a Black Bear Hunting Permit for the zone(s) they hunt in and a valid NJ hunting license. Five bear hunting zones are open to hunting; hunters are restricted to hunting only in the zone(s) for which they possess a permit. Hunters may possess permits for two separate zones. Permits are valid for the entire season (Segments A and B). In Segment A (October) use of bow or firearm is dependent on the day a person is hunting. A permit remains valid in Segment B if no bear is harvested with it in Segment A.

The season bag limit was increased to two bears in 2016, but only one bear per permit and per segment. Once a harvest is made, that permit is no longer valid. Hunters can initially purchase two permits for two different zones. If a permit is used (i.e. a bear harvested) in Segment A, a second permit for the same (or different) zone may be obtained for Segment B if available.

Permits are available at licence agents and online.

The NJ bear season will close if the harvest rate of bears tagged that year reaches 30%. In the event of a season closure, notification will be on the permit hotline number (609-292-9192), this page and via the NJ Hunting E-mail list. A season closure will become effective 24 hours from the daily legal closing time of the day on which the decision is made. In the event the bear harvest after Segment B does not meet a minimum of 20% harvest of bears tagged that year, the season may be extended four days during the following week in December.

2017 Regulations Summary (pdf, 235kb)
Detailed information about the 2017 season is found on pages 12 and 51-53 in the 2017-18 Hunting and Trapping Digest.

Bear Season Frequently Asked Questions
Black Bear Hunting Zones Maps and Descriptions

After Harvesting a Bear — Mandatory Bear Check Requirement

Properly licensed hunters who harvest a black bear shall immediately complete and affix to the bear the "Black Bear Transportation Tag" from their Black Bear Hunting Permit. Information included on the black bear transportation tag shall include: the hunter’s name, address, Conservation ID Number (CID#); date and time of kill; nearest road, county and municipality of kill; and the sex of the black bear.

Successful hunters must take the black bear to a designated check station by 9 p.m (October segment) and 7 p.m. (December segment) on the day of the kill. Hunters shall surrender the black bear transportation tag and will be issued a legal possession seal.

Any legally killed black bear recovered too late to be brought to a designated black bear check station before closing time above on the date of the kill must be reported immediately by telephone to the Bureau of Law Enforcement (908-735-8240). Hunters must provide their name, address and a telephone number where they can be reached on the telephone message recording device (if a Division representative is not available). Said black bear must be brought to a designated black bear check station the next day to be registered and to receive a legal possession seal. Hunters reporting bears to the law enforcement office after check stations close on Saturday will be contacted by a biologist on Sunday to legally check the bear and collect biological data on Sunday.

Black Bear Check Stations
Check station access is for hunters checking in bears only.

2017 HARVEST INFORMATION

Last updated 2:30 p.m. Sunday, December 17.
All data is preliminary and subject to revision.

Black Bear Harvest by Bear Hunting Zone

Bear Hunting Zone Bears Harvested in Segment A, 2017 Segment A Total Bears Harvested in Segment B, 2017 Segment B Total Season Total

10/9 10/10 10/11 10/12 10/13 10/14 12/4 12/5 12/6 12/7 12/8 12/9 12/13 12/14 12/15 12/16

Zone 1 7 19 7 14 16 19 82 25 6 3 7 2 4 1 2 0 3 53 135

Zone 2 11 16 17 9 10 14 77 16 8 2 6 8 3 1 0 1 9 54 131

Zone 3 8 16 13 2 7 13 59 18 3 3 2 3 4 1 2 0 4 38 97

Zone 4 0 6 4 3 5 8 26 9 0 4 1 0 3 1 0 0 2 20 46

Zone 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Total 26 57 41 28 38 54 244 68 17 12 16 13 12 4 4 1 18 165 409

Harvested Bears
Tagged This Year 0 5 4 4 1 2 16 2 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 1 6 22

Cumulative Harvest Rate*
0% 3.7% 6.7% 9.6% 10.4% 11.9% 11.9% 13.3% 13.3% 13.3% 13.3% 14.1% 15.6% 15.6% 15.6% 15.6% 16.3% - 16.3%

*Based On 135 Tagged Bears Available for Harvest

Black Bear Harvest by County

County Bears Harvested in Segment A, 2017 Segment A Total Bears Harvested in Segment B, 2017 Segment B Total Season Total

10/9 10/10 10/11 10/12 10/13 10/14 12/4 12/5 12/6 12/7 12/8 12/9 12/13 12/14 12/15 12/16

Sussex 18 29 22 17 24 27 137 38 10 4 13 9 6 1 1 1 10 93 230

Warren 2 10 6 6 10 15 49 14 4 5 1 3 4 2 1 0 6 40 89

Passaic 2 4 6 1 2 5 20 9 2 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 16 36

Morris 4 13 7 3 1 6 34 7 1 2 0 1 2 1 1 0 1 16 50

Bergen 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

Hunterdon 0 1 0 1 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3

Somerset 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Mercer 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Total 26 57 41 28 38 54 244 68 17 12 16 13 12 4 4 1 18 165 409

PREVIOUS SEASONS HARVEST INFORMATION

Hunting Permit Information
Non-Resident Hunting Information
NJ Hunting License Information

Bear Facts - Black Bears in New Jersey