The conservation targets and associated projects listed below are not all encompassing of what the Office of Fisheries & Wildlife Management works on each year. In addition to these projects, we work and collaborate on several “non-target” projects which might include outreach events, such as the Island Discovery event that takes place each year, research projects that are cross-jurisdictional but provide the tribe benefits, and any other large-scale projects, such as climate change, that work beyond fish and wildlife specifically but definitely impact these resources. These projects may not be listed in the paragraphs below but at the end, we list the current projects that work beyond our core conservation targets. Conservation Target : Black Bear ( Ursus americanus ) Management Goal: Conserve a hunt-able black bear population while minimizing human-bear conflict. Biological Conditions Contributed Service Conservation Strategies
Unknown population characteristics related to hunter harvest, stable habitat
Provisioning, Cultural, Supporting
Monitoring, Research, Management
History and Adaptive Process: The American black bear once ranged throughout North America, including most of North Carolina. Currently, they are only found throughout the Piedmont, Coast, and Mountains of the state and not in more central and eastern portions. Over- harvesting and habitat degradation pushed them into more remote mountain areas including the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and EBCI Tribal Reserve. There are many stories and teachings about bears within Cherokee culture where they are called Yo-Na ( ᏲᎾ ). A few years ago, the dog training season was extended into the Spring, due to hunter interest in keeping dogs ready for the Fall hunting season. Conflicts arise when dogs venture into the park after bears and dogs are collected. Since 2007, we have gathered samples from voluntary hunter harvest. The average number of participants is 2.5 a year with the peak being 15. According to several hunting groups, these participant numbers are far below that harvested annually. Low participation, despite a monetary incentive, has led us to seek alternative assessments of bear populations. In 2008, we initiated bear bait stations with NCWRC to determine presence. After assessment, we determined that there were methodological deficiencies in transect positions, so the bait stations were discontinued in 2019. Looking for better methods to understand bear populations, we chose to implement a bear hair snare study, beginning in 2020, supplemented with camera trapping. The hair provides a DNA sample to determine individual identification for a re-capture dataset resulting in a quantitative-driven density estimation. Camera trapping helps confirm DNA results and can provide demographic and behavioral information- like sow- cub ratios. Even though we have fewer human/bear conflicts than our neighbors, we continue to manage conflicts as needed. Working closely with NRE staff, we have developed methods to mitigate human/bear conflicts. We have also obtained funding for forensic evaluation and management of conflicts.
MANAGEMENT ACTIONS
Current Methodology for Conservation Strategies
Monitoring: Continue to collect hunter harvest and demographic data from teeth (age, reproductive frequency) and tissue (DNA banking). Assist in any wildlife/nuisance calls regarding black bears. Research:
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