A state biologist this week will ask residents to weigh in with suggestions of how to reduce the take of female brown bears in the area.

Area wildlife biologist Carl Koch said between 2010 and fall of 2015, more than half the brown bears taken during hunts were females, above the state’s harvest objective of three males for every two females.

That ratio is what the state believes is necessary to maintain a healthy breeding population here, Koch said.

“We want to spread the word that the female harvest is getting high and we want that to change,” Koch said. He will speak telephonically at Friday’s meeting of the Upper Lynn Canal Fish and Game Advisory Committee, starting 5 p.m. at the assembly chambers.

In some areas of the state, booklets explaining the difference in appearance between males and females are provided, and in other areas, prospective hunters are required to watch a video on the matter.

The state can close the hunt by emergency order, but that’s not an option that would be considered before next fall, Koch said. “We want to spread the word and give some warning in advance. We’ll be watching the spring season very closely and make a decision after that plays out,” he said.

A brown bear season runs Sept. 15-Dec. 31 and continues the following spring, from March 15 to May 31. Between 2010 and 2014, season harvests have averaged a total of 11 bears, with four taken in the spring and seven in the fall.

Brown bears are generally more active and visible in the fall, but at that time males and females also can be more difficult to tell apart, as each puts on considerable weight in advance of denning.

There is no guideline harvest limit for the brown bear hunt, Koch said. The state also has done no bear population studies here, although there have been some den studies.

“We don’t have a formal population estimate. They’re expensive and labor-intensive. You can’t go up in a plane and count bears,” Koch said. Hunt numbers provide an indicator of what’s happening with the local population, he said.

Trophy hunters generally go after male bears, which have larger skulls and hides than females. “Typically somebody from out-of-state will be looking for a big male, but they also don’t like to go home empty-handed.”

Non-resident hunters account for 67 percent of bears taken.

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