NEW JERSEY DEP KEEPS HUNTERS OFF PUBLIC LANDS
. . . In a continuing confrontation between New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection commissioner Bradley Campbell and the sportsmen he is supposed to be serving, a state court delivered a significant decision for Campbell when it ruled that the DEP can ban black bear hunting on state-owned lands. Scheduled to begin on Dec. 6, the second annual bear hunt, whose fate was to be decided by the New Jersey Supreme Court after the case was presented today, has proven to be a test of management authority between the commissioner who opposes the hunt and the state's Fish and Game Council, which supports and has authorized the hunt. Thus far, the state's judicial system has recognized the council's authority, but the Appellate Division of Superior Court ruled that Campbell had the right to close state lands to bear hunting, if the season is ultimately authorized. It is unclear whether Campbell's action will jeopardize the state's receiving almost $2 million in federal aid, which a letter from the U.S. Department of the Interior earlier threatened.
