There is never a bad time to think about hunting bears in Maryland. Some thought slots, though, are better than others.
For example, a good time to think about hunting bears is when you are hunting them. Another time is when you are applying to hunt them. That means right now because the application process has begun and will continue throughout August.
Maryland bear hunting is popular. When you ante up your $15 application fee (you won’t get that back, by the way, whether you draw a permit or not) you will be one of 5,000 or so people trying to obtain one of 950 permits. Those permits allow for bear hunting in Garrett, Allegany, Washington and Frederick counties Oct. 21-26 this year. Since bear hunting returned to Maryland in 2004 with 200 permits, the number of permits has grown gradually, but steadily and has been 950 since 2020.
In each of the past two hunts, 103 bears have been killed. The 2021 harvest was noticeably low at 54. The best bear bag year was 2016 when 167 bruins were checked in.
Apply online at dnr.maryland.gov.
This will be Maryland’s 21st bear hunt in modern times. Some consideration was given earlier this year to providing a separate and smaller number of permits good for bear hunting only in Frederick and Washington counties. That would be an effort to increase the number of hunters there.
“We proposed the option of a separate bear lottery in Frederick and Washington counties during the last regulatory review process. We didn’t get any opposition so we do plan to make this change,” said Brian Eyler, associate director of the Wildlife and Heritage Service.
Eyler said because the agency is creating a new licensing system, the change was not electronically feasible this year. “So, we are planning to institute the change for next year or the following year at the latest.”
I’ve hunted bears in Maryland. Although I don’t fool myself and think that I am any Meshach Browning (Forty-four Years, The Life of a Hunter) I bet I had some of the same thoughts and feels as the legendary Western Maryland nimrod as I traipsed the countryside where he once left boot tracks. I was once asked how many bears I figured Meshach Browning killed. “Every one he saw when he had a rifle in his hands,” was my answer.
The bear hunting regulations that have been in place for a long time still apply in Maryland. A permit holder can name two others to hunt, but the group may harvest just one bear. Bears must be checked in at official stations scattered throughout the four counties.
The history of modern Maryland bear hunting is most interesting. Those who go afield this year to slay the charismatic mega-fauna will add to that lore. I use the term “charismatic mega-fauna” as often as possible, crediting Candy Thomson from who I steal it on a regular basis. Thomson was the outdoor columnist for The Baltimore Sun and was in the check-station audience when the first dead bears in 51 years came in to be weighed and measured at Mt. Nebo in Garrett County.