As we have cut back on the number of wolves we have not done much for the bear population. Their numbers are proliferating, without the competition from wolves for baby Moose and Caribou. Once an alaskan hunter has taken a Grizzly they usually stops hunting them. And after four or five Black Bears they don't want any more of them either. So Bear hunters are not in high numbers, not like Moose or Caribou.
One of the main reasons Anchorage is having such a bad bear problem is that bear hunting was stopped back in the 80s when the Chugach National Forest became a preserve. With no bear hunting the numbers are steadily growing and the young bears are looking for their own territory. All the places in the Chugach are taken up by older bears, so the young ones are coming down out of the mountains looking for new ground.
Look at the liberal season in unit 20-E (two grizzlies a year), And unit 13 (no closed season). Have the numbers increased? Last I heard NO!
