Black Bear Research and Management In 1980, Division personnel
began conducting intensive research on New Jersey's black bear
population. In 2001, the Division's Black Bear Project Team was
created to intensify black bear management efforts. The black
bear project team has been awarded the national Earnest Thomas
Seton Award for excellence. After more than 30 years of
research, Division personnel have handled approximately 3,500
individual bears. The Division has been conducting bear studies
in the Kittatinny Ridge (Western) and Bearfort Mountain
(Eastern) Regions. The Eastern Region comprises an area of
approximately 350 square miles and the Western Region
approximately 230 square miles. In 2007, the research study area
expanded to include Bear Management Zone 4, which is west of
I-287, south of I-80 and north of I-78. The entire research
study area now encompasses 1,201 square miles. The Division's
Black Bear Project uses three primary methods of research. These
include research trapping and tagging, reprod