re: LA bear population estimated to be at 500 (ETA now 499)

I do not know how many bear are in the state of Louisiana. What I do know is a federal biologist told me years ago that if they released the actual numbers on the Louisiana Black Bear 2 things would happen.

1. The biologist were in fear of losing their funding and may be sent to another part of the country to study a different species.

2. The public would demand something be done to limit the numbers in their area. According to the fellow I was speaking with this notion comes from fear and simple lack of understanding by the general public.

What I got from that conversation was that the biologist and others in the black bear community have set their roots in this part of the world.(Kids in school, become members of a local church, involved in the community....ect.) They do not want to pack and leave in the middle of their life. The other thing I grabbed is what makes me angry. The whole "We are with the government and we know what is best" type attitude. The only way to sway the opinion of the general public is to make those people comfortable or find a way to profit from the issue. The federal wildlife has done neither. I am hole heartedly against the feds dishing out money to make folks happy so I think some education efforts might ease the concerns of John Q. Public.

My conversation with the federal biologist was on the banks of the Tensas where he was setting a trap for a nuisance bear in 1999-00ish.