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Maryland's first bear hunt in 51 years
Tuesday, September 28, 2004 Posted: 8:55 AM EDT (1255 GMT)



Black bears recovery may open the door to hunting.




HAGERSTOWN, Maryland (AP) -- Animal-protection advocates filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to block Maryland's first bear hunt in 51 years, which they said was the product of flawed science.

State wildlife managers proposed the hunt in February after more than a decade of debate. They have said the two-week hunt, which would be limited to 30 bears and would begin October 25, will help contain an increasingly troublesome resident population of black bears.

Officials estimate the bear population has grown from about a dozen in 1956 to an estimated 500 today, concentrated mainly in the state's far western mountains.

The state Department of Natural Resources declined to comment on the lawsuit, which claims the population estimates are based on "glaringly faulty scientific assumptions."

The lawsuit also claims the DNR missed two deadlines required for the hunt to be legal.

The DNR said 2,383 people applied for the hunt, which will be restricted to a total of 200 hunters.