Estimates for Vermont’s bear population continue to soar above what the state is aiming for, and new research seeks to understand why.
The state’s bear population is estimated to be 6,800 to 8,000 bears, based on 2024 data from the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. It marks the fourth consecutive year totals have been well above the state’s annual population goal of 3,500 to 5,500 bears.
At the same time, the 2024 bear hunting harvest was the highest in the state’s history and the state reported a record 183 bears killed by vehicles, according to Jaclyn Comeau, a bear biologist with the department.
Seeing population estimates continue to grow, despite the increases in harvest and non-hunting deaths, supports the department’s idea that there is real population growth among Vermont’s bears, Comeau said. And it motivated the department to launch a study to better understand what's causing this trend.
“By understanding [the trend], it can help us think more strategically about how we’re appropriately protecting habitat for bears, managing habitat for bears, but then also, what strategies can we deploy that might significantly influence the population trends as well?” she said.
Traditionally, the department has based its bear conservation and management initiatives around the relationship between bears and beech nut habitats, which are primarily in the Northeast Kingdom and southern Green Mountains in Vermont, said Comeau. Studies have shown landscapes with beech nuts as their dominant food source have significant influence over bears’ reproductive rates.
But over the past two decades, bears in Vermont have reestablished themselves in the Connecticut River Valley.
“We're wondering if, if the bears living in the valleys actually may have more success and potentially higher reproductive rates, because they have more diverse food options,” Comeau said.
Valley bears have a buffet selection of beech nuts and acorns, and they’ve also taken advantage of agricultural lands like corn fields, Comeau said.
Researchers placed GPS collars on 18 females, half in the southern Green Mountain area and the other half in the Connecticut River Valley, to monitor their movement. They’re hoping to collect data on the reproductive rates of bears living within these two bear ranges.
The trackers will allow the team to see the habitats they live in and locate their available food sources.
Researchers will enter the bears’ dens in late winter and early spring to study their cubs, where they will take note of the number and sex of the cubs. They will reenter the following year to see how many survived.
Comeau expects the study to last for at least five to six years because bears only reproduce every other year.
Hunting season began this month, but Comeau said if a hunter encounters a bear with a collar, they should proceed as they normally would on a hunting trip. She said hunters are the “citizen science” component of this study, and wants the study to reflect the average Vermont bear experience.
“I think every time we put collars on wildlife, including bears, you know, we learn something especially about the connections between habitat and landscape connectivity,” she said.
Comeau said this landscape connectivity also includes bear interactions within residential areas. She encourages people to keep their pets secured, store trash where bears can’t get it, and take other steps to avoid conflicts.
