The State Game Commission has published its final bear harvest report for 2019, and it was a record year.
State hunters took a record 4,635 black bears, topping the previous record of 4,350 taken in 2011. According to the Game Commission, that’s exactly what they were aiming for when they made the decision to institute the largest-ever set of bear season changes in a single license year.
Jefferson County’s harvest was down by 14, to 65 after hunters took 79 in 2018. Clearfield County increased its bear harvest by 16, to 103. Indiana County hunters took 42 bears, an increase of eight more than 2018’s total.
