TRAVERSE CITY -- Black bears' ravenous pursuit of fresh honey in four northern Lower Michigan counties may put them in a sticky situation: an extra week of targeting by hunters.
The state Department of Natural Resources wants to extend the bear hunting season in Benzie, Leelanau and parts of Grand Traverse and Kalkaska counties to contend with a rising number of nuisance bear complaints.
Hunters with permits for the Baldwin bear management unit could start a week early this year in those four counties, if the state's Natural Resources Commission approves proposed new rules next month in Lansing.
"We don't think much of them, but they are dangerous animals when they get out of line," said Julius Kolarik, an orchard farmer and beekeeper from northern Leelanau County.
Kolarik has long endured bears that break into his beehives, tempted by honey and the bee brood. Many farmers use electric fences to avoid thousands of dollars in damages and lost profits, but it doesn't always work, he said.
Several years ago, Kolarik legally shot a bear as it pawed through his beehives. He supports the culling of nuisance bears, but said there is a place for the animals here, even as humans encroach on their habitat.
"As more people move into the area, it makes it tougher on bears," Kolarik said.
Beekeeper Jeremy Jelinek, of Suttons Bay, also lost hives to scavenging bears and agreed a longer hunting season could help the problem. He plans to install a new protective fence around his bee yard this spring.
Not many bear hunters choose to hunt in Benzie, Leelanau and portions of Grand Traverse and Kalkaska counties west of U.S. 131, said Larry Visser, DNR wildlife supervisor. Other areas in the hunting unit have more bears to attract hunters, he said.
"We're trying to focus the hunting effort a little bit more," Visser said.
Sixty-five licenses will be issued through a lottery for the unit, which also includes 10 more southern counties. Successful applicants may be able to hunt in the northern, four-county area from Sept. 12-25, while the rest of the unit will be Sept. 19-25.
Hunters who don't kill a bear in the early week up north still have the chance to hunt the regular season dates anywhere in the unit, Visser said.
Nearly 13,000 bear licenses will be issued by the state this year, all but 2,240 in the Upper Peninsula.
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