STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE FISH AND GAME DEPARTMENT WILDLIFE DIVISION
21 December 2022
2022 Bear Season Update - Final
The 2022 statewide bear hunter harvest represented the second highest harvest in New Hampshire history and was only 55 bears below the record level (1,183 bears in 2020). This year’s harvest was 23% higher than the preceding 5-year average (920 bears) and 26% above the 2021 harvest (892 bears). The harvest consisted of 562 males and 566 females resulting in an overall harvest sex ratio of 1.0 males per female. Method-specific harvest sex ratios included 1.0 m:f for bait and still hunters and 0.7 m:f for hound hunters. A breakdown by region and method follows.
| North | WMUs | A, B, C2, D1 |
| Region | Total Harvest | 238 bears (105 females, 133 males) |
| Harvest by method (# bears) | Bait (153), Hound (21), Still (64) | |
| 5-year mean harvest (2017-2021); % change | 167 bears; +42% | |
| White | WMUs | C1, D2, E, F |
| Mountains | Total Harvest | 305 bears (163 females, 142 males) |
| Region | Harvest by method (# bears) | Bait (215), Hound (13), Still (77) |
| 5-year mean harvest (2017-2021); % change | 274 bears; +11% | |
| Central | WMUs | G, I1, J1, J2 |
| Region | Total Harvest | 332 bears (183 females, 149 males) |
| Harvest by method (# bears) | Bait (239), Hound (13), Still (80) | |
| 5-year mean harvest (2017-2021); % change | 290 bears; +14% | |
| Southwest-1 | WMUs | H1, I2 |
| Region | Total Harvest | 114 bears (49 females, 65 males) |
| Harvest by method (# bears) | Bait (51), Hound (18), Still (45) | |
| 5-year mean harvest (2017-2021); % change | 91 bears; +25% | |
| Southwest-2 | WMUs | H2, K |
| Region | Total Harvest | 126 bears (63 females, 63 males) |
| Harvest by method (# bears) | Bait (71), Still (55) | |
| 5-year mean harvest (2017-2021); % change | 89 bears; +42% | |
| Southeast | WMUs | L, M |
| Region | Total Harvest | 13 bears (3 females, 10 males) |
| Harvest by method (# bears) | Bait (3), Still (10) | |
| 5-year mean harvest (2017-2021); % change | 8 bears; +63% |
Interpretation of harvest data and ages of harvested bears will be complete and available by mid-winter.
2022 BEAR HARVEST TALLY COMPARED TO PREVIOUS 5 YEARS
| 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
| SUM | SUM | SUM | SUM | SUM | SUM |
| 587 | 1053 | 886 | 1183 | 892 | 1128 |
