Prince William Sound Black Bear Hunting 9.27.12

Prince William Sound fall black bear opens on September 10^th, 2012! There are plenty of bears being sighted around the berry patches. The salmon runs were weak this year in the sound and the berries are late. I’ve seen salmon berries that are just now becoming ripe which is very late. The blue berries are almost ready and it looks like we’ll have a much better crop this year. Last year the moths ate a lot of the leaves of the blue berries causing a crop failure. Many bears went into hibernation without their fill of berries that season. Not this year – the berries are plentiful and large. The bears had devoured the fruit of the skunk cabbage by the end of August. Last fall we spotted several bears foraging on kelp along the beaches. They prefer ribbon kelp, bull kelp, sea lettuce, dulse and nori. These types of seaweed are best found on exposed beaches with kelp beds off shore. This is always a good place to spot bears after a storm. Bladderwrack (often called pop weed or rock weed) can be seen growing everywhere in the sound: deer and bears don’t like to eat this seaweed. Last year’s record snow fall has changed the timing on many of the foods the bears depend on, making a slow start in the spring, late fish runs and now a late berry crop. There are plenty of bears out there; many deer hunters claim there are too many and the bears are getting a lot of fawns in the spring. Over the years we have seen areas where the bears have multiplied and the deer have become scarce, especially around the areas of enhanced salmon runs. For more information on hunting Prince William Sound or hunter transportation in Western Prince William Sound, check out www.princewilliamsoundhunting.com