Some 3,000 black bear hunters will probably be contacted this winter as a part of the Ministry of Pure Assets’ first survey on the species in eight years.
From January to March, some 2,000 hunters dwelling in Ontario and 1,000 non-resident US hunters will probably be randomly requested to take part, the ministry introduced in a Jan. 6 electronic mail to companions, together with the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH).
The evaluation is a part of a daily cycle of surveys of hunters, leisure anglers, and different nature-based recreationists, and trappers, officers acknowledged. They’re along with obligatory hunter exercise and harvest reporting.
Invited hunters will have the ability to full the survey on-line at ontario.ca/BearHunterSurvey utilizing the distinctive entry codes supplied of their invitation letters or by filling out and returning a paper questionnaire utilizing a supplied postage-paid return envelope.
“These surveys complement the knowledge we obtain from different sources — like obligatory hunter reporting – to offer a richer understanding of who’s partaking with these actions in Ontario and the way, in addition to insights into the views and preferences of individuals and the sorts of advantages that these actions present to people and to the province,” Fish and Wildlife Coverage Department Director Christie Curley wrote.
Final survey in 2017
The final survey of black bear hunters was carried out in 2017. It was primarily designed to estimate the financial contributions of the spring and fall black bear searching seasons to Ontario from hunter expenditures. Different targets included assessing consciousness of, participation in, and obstacles to participation within the voluntary black bear premolar tooth submission program, and profiling Ontario’s black bear hunters.
The 2024 survey can be designed to allow financial expenditure estimates by searching season, profile Ontario’s black bear hunters, observe consciousness and participation with the voluntary black bear premolar tooth submission program, and study present searching kinds and preferences, officers acknowledged.
The scope of the survey has additionally been expanded to incorporate extra questions on searching kinds (akin to strategies for figuring out feminine bears) and preferences (akin to journey and placement preferences), and hunter experiences searching with licensed bear operators. Hunter views on black bear administration in Ontario (akin to obstacles to reporting of bears taken in safety of property), may even be sought.
