The 2023 Pennsylvania bear hunting season harvest results show a slight decline over the 2022 season

The largest bear taken during the recent bear huning season was a 691-pounder from Pike County. Contributed photo

The final Pennsylvania bear harvest report is in and the season saw a decline of 250 bears when compared to the 2022 season. 

In the 2023 seasons, hunters harvested 2,023 bears compared to the 2022 seasons when 3,170 were taken. According to Pennsylvania Game Commission’s bear program specialist Emily Carrollo, fifty-eight of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties produced bears and at least one bear was taken in 20 of 22 WMUs. Additionally, hunters took bears in all the seasons. 

The decline, according to Carrollo, was due to the elimination of  bear season in WMUs 1B, 2C, 4A, 4B and 4D that produced an average of 375 bears on average from 2019 to 2022. 

Regarding the multiple seasons, the traditional statewide firearms season contributed 1,086 bears while the archery season had 695, the extended season saw 591, the muzzleloader season 424, the special firearms season 117 and the early archery season added seven. 

Of those totals, the largest bear harvested was a 691-pounder taken in the extended rifle season in Porter Township, Pike County by Mitchell Jonathan of Quakertown. Following that was a 645-pounder taken in the archery season in Foster Township, Schuylkill County; a 636-pounder in the firearms season in Roaring Brook Township, Lackawanna County; a 630-pounder in the firearms season in Hamilton Township Monroe County; a 616-pounder in archery season in Nesquehoning Borough, Carbon County; a 605-pounder taken in the firearms season in Upper Mount Bethel Township, Northampton County; a 589-pounder in the firearms season in Washington Township, Jefferson County; a 581-pounder, in the firearms season in Watson Township, Lycoming County; another 581-pounder in the firearms season in Cherry Township, Sullivan County; and a 576-pounder in the firearms season in Cherry Township, Sullivan County. 
Among the top producing counties were Tioga that gave up 176 bears followed by Lycoming with 170, Potter with 155, Pike with 142, Bradford with 138, Luzerne with 135, Monroe with 127, Wayne accounted for 124, Clinton with 108 and Carbon with 101. 

Final county harvests by region closest to the Lehigh Valley are (with 2022 figures in parentheses):

NORTHEAST: 1,067 (901): Pike, 142 (84); Bradford, 138 (126); Luzerne, 135 (126); Monroe 127 (114); Wayne, 124 (81); Carbon, 101 (78); Sullivan, 75 (84); Susquehanna, 67 (47); Wyoming, 62 (50); Lackawanna, 57 (51); Columbia, 27 (46); Northumberland, 10 (10) and Montour, 2 (4). 

SOUTHEAST: 159 (131): Schuylkill, 65 (65); Dauphin, 42 (27); Northampton, 21 (12); Berks, 16 (11); Lebanon 10 (14); and Lehigh, 5 (2). 

The final bear harvest by the nearest Wildlife Management Units (WMUs) were WMU 3D, 451 (344); WMU 4C, 220 (190); WMU 5C, 15 (8); and WMU 5D, 0 (0). 

Carrollo pointed out that in 2023, Pennsylvania had 206,124 hunters – the fourth-highest ever – which marked the fifth year in a row that bear license sales topped 200,000. Considering the recent total harvest, it’s obvious that only a tiny  fraction of bear hunters score. 

As these harvest numbers reflect, it’s a published fact that Pennsylvania has a lot of large bears and the largest number of 600 pound-plus bears of any state. 

NWTF HOSTS BANQUET

The Jerry Zimmerman Memorial Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) will host its 26th Annual Hunting Heritage Superfund Membership Banquet on Friday, March 1, 2024 at the Homewood Suites, 3350 Center Valley Parkway, Center Valley. 

The Chapter does a lot for wildlife habitat improvement, they contribute to land acquisitions as well as sponsoring the “Wheelin Sportsman” program for disabled hunters and “Jakes” Youth Field Days for young hunters plus Women in the Outdoors events. 

In addition to the banquet there will be a live auction of wildlife prints, sculptures, home furnishings, jewelry and collectables. 

There will also be a gun raffle featuring a first prize of a Benelli Super Black Eagle III 12 ga., 28-inch Barrel-Gore Opitfade Timber Camo shotgun, or $1,000 cash; 2nd prize, a Kimber Micro 9mm handgun, or $500 in cash; 3rd prize, Savage Axis XP Camo Combo with winner’s choice of caliber, or $400 cash; 4th prize, Benelli Nova 12 ga. Shotgun; 5th prize a Traditions Muzzleloader Red-Pak. 

The banquet has several sponsor packages available as well as special Sportsman’s and Ladies raffles. 

For more information and to purchase advance tickets and packages go to https://events.nwtf.org/38032110-2024. Or call Bruce Dietrich, Banquet Chairman at 610-298-2424. 

Tickets may also be purchased at Bob’s Wildlife Taxidermy at 4642 Kernsville Road, Orefield. Call before you go at 610-398-7609.