B.__The commissioner, through the commissioner's authorized agent, shall issue a bear hunting permit to eligible persons.__The fee for a bear hunting permit is $5 for residents and $15 for nonresidents and aliens.

C.__An unexpired bear hunting permit must be carried by the permittee at all times while bear hunting or while transporting a bear.

Sec. 5. Effective date. This Act takes effect January 1, 2002.

SUMMARY

This bill establishes a new bear hunting permit that would be required for all bear hunters beginning in 2002. This bill will:

1. Make the black bear hunting permit equivalent to that of other big game species;

2. Eliminate a system that has allowed many hunters to take a bear without a permit; and

3. Establish a mechanism that can be used in the future to better distribute bear hunting pressure.

The bill also requires the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to produce a bear transportation tag that is part of the bear hunting permit. Currently the bear tag must be part of the big game hunting license.