BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 9, 2022
More people hunted black bears in Maine again this year and the result was another sizable harvest. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has thus far electronically accounted for 3,758 bears taken by all methods of hunting during 2022. There was an 18 percent rise in bear permit sales in 2020 after the onset of the pandemic. In Maine, bears may be hunted by baiting, dogs and trapping, with the remainder taken by spot-and-stalk tactics or incidental harvests during the regular firearms season for deer. There are an estimated 26,000 to 30,000 bears in the state.