Bear Management In Tennessee

Harvest Information

Black bear hunting seasons were established in Tennessee in the early 1930's. Harvest records have been kept since 1951. Regulations changed little until 1970 when the season was closed through 1972 because of low population levels. Since 1973, and prior to 1997, Tennessee’s legal bear harvest has ranged from a low of 9 in 1975, to a high of 124 in 1990. The 1997 season was an extraordinary one, with 370 bears harvested. The unusual events surrounding the 1997 season are reported on later in this section.

In 1997, there was also an expansion of bear hunting opportunities in three northeastern Tennessee counties: Carter, Johnson, and Sullivan counties. These 3 counties were opened for the first time with a 5-day hunt in December, 1997, harvesting a total of 12 black bears.

1997 was an unusual year in Tennessee relative to black bear activities. Incidents of bear/human conflicts, and bear damage rose dramatically, primarily due to increased numbers of bears, and because of a general scarcity of natural fall foods. The situation was most acute in the area around Gatlinburg, which is situated adjacent to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP), a large natural area which provides habitat for a large number of bears. Bears found Gatlinburg to be an attractive place because of the abundance of garbage associated with area hotels, restaurants, and residences. Due to the fact that bear numbers have increased substantially over the last several years, and natural foods were in short supply during the fall of 1997, the bear harvest (370) exceeded our stated harvest objective (75 bears harvested per year), and the previous state record (124 bears in 1990). The bulk of the harvest (253; 68%) occurred during a 7-day period (October 13-19) in Blount, Sevier and Cocke counties, which are adjacent to GSMNP. The heavy bear harvest in the Gatlinburg area during October 1997 caused considerable public controversy, and resulted in numerous letters, phone calls, editorials and news reports on the situation. Much of the controversy centered on conflicts between bear hunters and the citizens and landowners of the Gatlinburg area. Much of the public were also bothered by the high level of bear harvest, and expressed concern over harvest impacts on the population.

As a result of the high harvest of 1997, and the public controversy surrounding it, the Agency delayed its setting of the 1998 bear season until bait station surveys were conducted during the summer of 1998. Bait station surveys indicated that the bear population had not been significantly impacted, so the normal seasons were set, with the exception that date frameworks for the early season were adjusted to minimize conflicts between bear hunters and Gatlinburg visitors during the peak visiting period of October. In addition to the biological data collections and evaluation of the 1997 harvest, TWRA participated in several meetings with Gatlinburg officials in an attempt to develop some kind of strategy for dealing with the accessibility of garbage in the area. In September, 1999, the City of Gatlinburg adopted an ordinance requiring animal-proof garbage containers for private residents and commercial businesses in certain areas of the city.