The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resource will issue 14 percent more black bear hunting licenses as part of a plan to hit a 6 percent higher kill goal for the species this year.
The agency’s proposal includes 13,110 licenses and a harvest quota of 4,075 bears. The 2025 bear season will have the following number of licenses and quota:
— Zone A, 1,680 and 1,075
— Zone B, 1,610 and 900
— Zone C, 3,750 and 750
— Zone D, 3,570 and 1,110
— Zone E, 2,000 and 200
— Zon F, 500 and 50
The numbers reflect results from the 2024 Wisconsin bear hunting season and the latest review of the state’s bear population by the DNR’s Bear Advisory Committee.
During the 2024 season, the DNR issued 11,501 licenses and hunters registered 4,301 bears. That was 12 percent more than the season quota. During the 2023 season, hunters registered 3,005 bears, the lowest in the state in 15 years. State officials chalked that falloff to a heavy mast crop and low hunter success rate of 24 percent.
Season goals are based on myriad factors including hunter success, bear nuisance complaints, agricultural damage and population health, among others. Licenses are issued based on that data to achieve management quotas in the state’s zones. The DNR said 33,733 people applied for a license this past year, and 101,035 applications were submitted for a bear hunting preference point. In some zones it can take up to 10 or more preference points to draw a tag. This year’s season opens September 3.
