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

New Jersey's Black Bear Hunting Season

General Information

The New Jersey black bear hunting season has been held concurrently with the Six-day Firearm Deer Season (in 2014 the dates were December 8 through December 13) since 2010. Participants are required to have a Black Bear Hunting Area Permit for the area(s) they hunt in and a current Firearm or All-around Hunting License.

There are four bear hunting areas open to hunting in New Jersey; hunters are restricted to hunt only in the area(s) for which they possess a permit. Hunters may possess permits for two separate areas but are limited to one black bear for the season. Permits are awarded via a lottery; the lottery application period is September 15 to October 15 each year. Leftover and unclaimed permits are then sold at licence agents and online.

Detailed information about the 2014 season can be found on pages 60-61 in the 2014-15 Hunting and Trapping Digest. The Hunting and Trapping Digest is available in August each year.

Bear Season Frequently Asked Questions

Black Bear Hunting Areas Map 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 7 p.m. 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 by 7 p.m. on the date of the kill must be reported immediately by telephone to the Northern Region Office of 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

2014 HARVEST INFORMATION

Data is preliminary and subject to revision.

Black Bear Harvest by Bear Hunting Area

Bear Hunting Area Bears Harvested in 2014

12/8 12/9 12/10 12/11 12/12 12/13 Total

Area 1 37 5 5 6 14 12 79

Area 2 36 6 9 10 9 19 89

Area 3 40 7 6 7 13 4 77

Area 4 11 1 1 2 3 9 27

Total 124 19 21 25 39 44 272

Black Bear Harvest by County

County Bears Harvested in 2014

12/8 12/9 12/10 12/11 12/12 12/13 Total

Sussex 72 9 10 13 16 28 148

Warren 24 4 9 4 9 10 60

Morris 13 2 0 5 6 4 30

Passaic 10 4 2 2 8 1 27

Hunterdon 3 0 0 1 0 1 5

Bergen 2 0 0 0 0 0 2

Total 124 19 21 25 39 44 272

PAST SEASONS HARVEST INFORMATION

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

Bear Facts - Black Bears in New Jersey