The Soap Box Resolving Conflicts Between Humans and the Threatened Louisiana Black Bear

The Louisiana black bear (Ursus americanus luteolus) is one of 16 subspecies of American black bear.At the time of English settlement, this subspecies was abundant throughout Louisiana, the southern two-thirds of Mississippi, eastern Texas, and extreme southern Arkansas.By the 1950s, Louisiana black bears had been extirpated from most of their original range due to habitat destruction and fragmentation and overharvest by hunters (Leigh and Chamberlain 2008).It is believed that only about 100 black bears remained; existing in isolated, extremely rural areas of eastern Louisiana.Bears became so scarce during the 1960s that the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) initiated a restocking program using bears captured in Minnesota.The restoration program ultimately was unsuccessful.Small, isolated bear populations continued to hang onto existence, and, in 1992, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) listed the Louisiana black bear as threatened.Since the bear's federal listing many agencies, including FWS and LDWF, Louisiana Black Bear Conservation Committee (BBCC), USDA/ APHIS/Wildlife Services (WS), Louisiana State University, and University of Tennessee have come together in their efforts to study, sustain, and restore bears to suitable habitat.Through combined efforts of these organizations, bear numbers have stabilized and are increasing.While no verifiable population estimates exist at present, biologists believe the total population to be between 600 and 800 bears.Of special importance to the turnaround was that managers recognized that successful restoration would require addressing individual humanbear conflicts in a timely and effective manner.In the early 1990s, WS became a team player with LDWF and BBCC to resolve these issues.

Abstract licence: CC BY

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