House Bill 4128 would have opened Oklahoma's bear season two weeks earlier and prohibited the Department of Wildlife Conservation from capping harvest below 200 bears per year.
This year's black bear archery season is set to run from Oct. 1-18. If the measure became law, it would have required the 2027 black bear season to start no later than Sept. 15, effectively extending it by two weeks for bow hunters.
Those two weeks are big ones for Oklahoma's black bears, who start denning for the winter in early October. In September, they're munching on acorns to fatten up for hibernation. That makes them particularly vulnerable to baiting in those weeks.
Rep. Scott Fetgatter, R-Okmulgee, and Sen. Spencer Kern, R-Duncan, authored the bill. When Fetgatter spoke to the House Energy and Natural Resources Oversight Committee on March 4, he said he had "no intention of devastating" Oklahoma's bear populations, but he wanted to minimize bear encounters.
"In southeast Oklahoma, those constituents have a problem with bears tearing up their property," Fetgatter said on March 4. "And some of them are in fear because they walk out on the front porch and they may find a bear out on the front porch."
Wildlife officials said Oklahoma's bear population is well-balanced and growing slowly. After the House Energy and Natural Resources Oversight Committee advanced the bill in early March, Department of Wildlife Conservation spokesperson Micah Holmes said the department had a prerogative to offset any changes and keep the bear population where it is.
"If we had to open up an earlier season, we would have to look at other ways to moderate the harvest to kind of keep it right where it is," Holmes said. "That could be license sales. It could be geographic restrictions or different quotas and things like that."
The bills' authors added specifics that would prevent that, specifying counties and prohibiting quotas of fewer than 200 bears per year. A version including those specifics passed the House in late March with a vote of 64 to 30.
"I would like to remind the body that this is a very specific area of the state that does not affect most of our districts," Fetgatter said when the House considered the bill March 25. "So I think it's important that we listen to the people who are mostly affected by this."
On Monday, the Senate Agriculture and Wildlife Committee considered an amended version, which put the harvest limit back in the hands of ODWC officials, but it would still legislate the timing and locations of black bear season. Kern acknowledged it would set a new precedent for the legislature's control over hunting and fishing seasons.
The committee narrowly rejected that amendment, then less narrowly rejected the bill in its entirety.
Sen. George Burns, R-Pollard, said he believed the bill would allow out-of-state hunters to "completely devastate the bear crop." He said he didn't believe his constituents in McCurtain County stood to benefit much from the bill.
"I've had three phone calls — and they were all from Texas — wanting to pass this bill because they're outfitters," Burns said. "And they could come up here during the two weeks that they start early and slaughter the bear because they're still feeding. It's like putting out feed, being in a tree and it's just a slaughter."
Several other senators from both parties expressed concerns about the long-term effects on Oklahoma's bear population.
"I've never seen one in the wild, but I do think they're a cool creature," said Randy Grellner, R-Cushing. "And I think we need to protect them, protect our traditions and protect the people. And I don't think this bill does it."
Kern said he and Fetgatter had been working to refine the bill and would continue to do so if the committee advanced it. But ultimately, they voted 9 to 3 to reject it.
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
