The state appeals court ruled that the DEP's comprehensive bear management policy - including the provision for a hunt - was not arbitrarily adopted
Bears are checked in by the New Jersey Department of Fish and Wildlife at the Pequest Fish Hatchery in Oxford on the first day of the 2010 bear hunt.TRENTON — Next week's bear hunt will go on as planned, according to an opinion by a state appeals court issued this morning.
The three appellate judges ruled that the Department of Environmental Protection's comprehensive bear management policy — including the provision for a hunt — was not arbitrarily adopted, and that the agency's findings appropriately followed the state's Administrative Procedures Act.
The lawyer for the Animal Protection League of New Jersey and the Bear Education and Resource, or BEAR, group had argued that the DEP's methodology for tallying the bear population and the numbers of complaints was skewed toward holding a hunt. The court found that the DEP's uses met an acceptable legal standard, however.
"While there may be disagreements as to available data and its interpretation, under our standard of review we defer to agency findings that are based on sufficient evidence in the record. We conclude that the agency findings here meet that standard," the court said in its opinion.
The court had heard oral argument on the issue on Tuesday, from the animal rights attorney, as well as the Deputy Attorney General who was representing the DEP.
"This ruling affirms the science- and fact- based policy that we have adopted as part of a comprehensive approach to managing black bears in New Jersey," said Commissioner Bob Martin. "The plan is a legitimate response to deal with a large black bear population and a resultant increase in public complaints about bear and human encounters. This is a public safety issue that requires responsible action by the state."
One of New Jersey's most vocal bear advocates said the return of the bear hunt was "an absolute travesty."
"I'm surprised the court did not agree with our lawsuit, but we are not going anywhere," said Angi Metler, of the Animal Protection League of New Jersey and the Bear Education and Resource group. "We are proceeding on to our next phase of our campaign to protect bears."
Doris Lin, the lawyer who represented the animal groups, said they would appeal to the state's Supreme Court.
"We're disappointed with the amount of deference the the court gave the Division of Fish and Wildlife, allowing them to misrepresent their data and even fabricate scientific information," Lin said.
New Jersey black bears, which were considered wiped out in the 1970s, made an enormous comeback in the last few decades — so much so that three hunts have been conducted in the last decade: in 2003, 2005 and 2010. Last year a record 592 bears were shot and killed — but DEP biologists say the population of 3,200 in the northwestern quadrant of the state has remained virtually the same, despite last year's kill total.
The bear hunt, once proposed in New Jersey, is regularly challenged in state courts. Sometimes the challenge is successful: rulings had effectively stopped two hunts in the last decade, in 2004 and 2007.
Previous coverage:
• Editorial: Bear hunt needed in New Jersey
• Animal rights group asks N.J. appellate court to cancel upcoming bear hunt