{"id":2702,"date":"2022-12-05T12:20:57","date_gmt":"2022-12-05T17:20:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/rules\/?page_id=2702"},"modified":"2026-02-24T15:24:01","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:24:01","slug":"20221205a","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/rules\/notice-of-rule-proposal-archive\/20221205a\/","title":{"rendered":"20221205a"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;]<b>NJ DEPARTMENT of ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION<br \/>\n<\/b>FISH AND WILDLIFE AND<br \/>\nFISH AND GAME COUNCIL<\/p>\n<p><strong>Notice of Rule Proposal<\/strong><br \/>\nComprehensive Black Bear Management Policy<br \/>\nGame Code N.J.A.C. 7:25-5<\/p>\n<p><strong>PUBLIC NOTICE<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Take notice <\/strong>that the New Jersey Fish and Game Council is proposing the 2022 New Jersey Comprehensive Black Bear Management Policy (CBBMP) and amendments to N.J.A.C. 7:25-5, the New Jersey State Game Code (Game Code or Code). In accordance with N.J.S.A. 13:18-28 and the State Supreme Court&#8217;s decision in U.S. Sportsman&#8217;s Alliance Foundation v. NJDEP, 182 N.J. 461(2005), the Fish and Game Council since 2010 has authored a CBBMP that outlines non-lethal and lethal management actions to ensure the longevity of this species, provide for human safety, and reduce bear-human conflict. The CBBMP works in conjunction with the Game Code at N.J.A.C. 7:25-5.6, which delineates season dates and bag limits for black bear and establishes safeguards to allow for the closure of the hunting season should harvest targets be reached.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to the CBBMP, changes are proposed to the section of the Game Code regulating the hunting of black bear, N.J.A.C. 7:25-5.6. These changes prohibit the harvest of bears less than 75 lbs. live weight as well as adult bears accompanying these young bear and prohibit the hunting of black bear within 300 feet of a baited area.<\/p>\n<p>The CBBMP and the Game Code Amendments were filed as an Emergency Rule, effective November 15, 2022, in response to public safety concerns due to a growing black bear population. The CBBMP and Game Code changes are proposed to be repromulgated to continue them in effect beyond the 60-day emergency adoption period ending January 14, 2023.<\/p>\n<p>The proposal is scheduled to be published in the New Jersey Register dated December 5, 2022.\u00a0 A copy of the proposal (PDF) is available from: Department of Environmental Protection\u2019s (DEP) website\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/rules\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/70\/proposals\/proposal-20221205a.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/rules\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/70\/proposals\/proposal-20221205a.pdf<\/a>; LexisNexis Customer Services at (800) 223-1944 or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lexisnexis.com\/hottopics\/njoal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.lexisnexis.com\/hottopics\/njoal\/<\/a>.\u00a0 Be advised that there may be a fee for obtaining a copy of the proposal from some sources.<\/p>\n<p>A public hearing concerning the proposal is scheduled as follows:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><strong>CBBMP and Game Code Amendments<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Public Hearing <\/strong><strong><br \/>\nWednesday, January 18, 2023, 1:00 to 8:00 PM (EDT)<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>NJ State Museum Auditorium<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>205 West State Street, Trenton, NJ 08625<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Submit comments by close of business on February 3, 2023, electronically at <a href=\"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/rules\/comment-on-dep-rulemaking-2\/\">https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/rules\/comment-on-dep-rulemaking-2\/<\/a>.\u00a0 Each comment should be identified by the applicable N.J.A.C. citation, with the commenter&#8217;s name and affiliation following the comment.<\/p>\n<p>The Fish and Game Council (Council) encourages electronic submittal of comments. In the alternative, comments may be submitted on paper to:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection<br \/>\n2022 CBBMP and Game Code Amendment Comments<br \/>\nNJDEP Fish and Wildlife<br \/>\nMail Code 501-03<br \/>\nP.O. Box 420<br \/>\nTrenton, New Jersey 08625-0420<\/p>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;]NJ DEPARTMENT of ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION FISH AND WILDLIFE AND FISH AND GAME COUNCIL Notice of Rule Proposal Comprehensive Black Bear Management Policy Game Code N.J.A.C. 7:25-5 PUBLIC NOTICE Take notice that the New Jersey Fish and Game Council is proposing the 2022 New Jersey Comprehensive Black Bear Management Policy (CBBMP) and amendments to N.J.A.C. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":0,"parent":79,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"fullwidth-title.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2702","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/rules\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/rules\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/rules\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/rules\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/112"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/rules\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2702"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/rules\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2702\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4076,"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/rules\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2702\/revisions\/4076"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/rules\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/79"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/rules\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}