Hello, I want to comment on…

Hello,

I want to comment on the changes that are being proposed for non-resident Black Bear hunting.

I am a Retired Michigan Conservation Officer, so am very familiar with how important it is to have proper wildlife management, law changes and the regulating of Outfitters or as you call them "licensed bear operators". I appreciate this opportunity to submit comments.

Our family bought property in Canada almost 20 years ago. We have a small three bedroom cottage on 500 acres of land. We purchased this so that we could take our 4 children to Canada for vacations and to take them hunting. Through their younger years they have simply sat with us while we have hunted. We have enjoyed this immensley and because of this have instilled in our children a great respect for the outdoors, wildlife, and the importance of proper management and legal harvest of different wildlife species. Although we have participated in hunting many species on our property it has been the Black Bear hunts that have been the most enjoyable and memorable! As our children have reached the legal hunting age in Canada, three of them have had the opportunity to experience a successful bear hunt with us now sitting with them. Truly a rewarding experience!!

With the changes that you propose this will come to an abrupt end, as we would not be able to hunt our land anymore but would be forced to pay big money to go through a licensed operator. Because of my background/career with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and having worked closely with Wildlife Division I don't feel that your proposal truly puts Black Bear Management "first".

Hopefully statistics have been gathered. I would think that as far as non-resident bear hunters go, that the majority of non-residents already go with an outfitter. Forcing "all" non-residents who want to hunt Black Bear to go with an outfitter can take this opportunity away from "families" like ours (who have 1 person per year be able to purchase a license to hunt anyway). What your proposed change would do is.... increase/pad the pockets of the licensed outfitter. This too at a time when many states nationwide struggle with and continue to watch their revenue drop in license sales because of a growing loss of interest in hunting, partially due to so many single parent homes where children grow up never being exposed to the great outdoors as far as wildlife education, management, and hunting opportunities.

If Black Bear Management is the #1 priority, I hope that you would consider a minimum requirement of the size of acreage that a non-resident owns, to qualify to purchase a license for bear hunting, before jumping to the extreme measure of cutting this out altogether. I would guess that you have many non-residents who only own a lot or very small parcel of land, probably not even suitable for any type of hunting activity, so that they can qualify as a property owner to be able to legally purchase a non-resident bear hunting license.

Thank you again for the opportunity to submit comments on this proposal. I obviously hope that you will reconsider some of the changes that you are proposing. I appreciate your time and the importance of the job you have been entrusted with to manage our wildlife species for future generations!