Pennsylvania Game News - November 2020 - 40

lives, even if never finding success.
"Visit any check station after hunting
hours close and you can't help but respect
bear hunters," Ternent noted. "They are
genuinely excited about bears and appreciative of the resource; they are respectful
of the bears they harvest and tired, if they
had anything to do with getting the bear
out of the woods."
Ask Ternent about one of his favorite
bear stories, and maybe he'll bring up
the Wertz Hollow Bear, a female that
stopped producing cubs at an early age
and became increasingly temperamental
during subsequent winter checks.
"We used to joke she was too mean to
attract a mate!" Ternent offered.
Others are sad tales, like the Red Gate
Bear, which he watched raise eight litters
of cubs over 16 years before she succumbed to mange.
All of them mattered to Ternent, who
noted he can remember a few details
about almost every bear he's radiocollared. Alt has the same feelings. It's
something that accompanies any biologist
who works closely with a single species
for most of their career.
Now 69, Alt never thought Pennsylvania would have 20,000 bears; he figured
maybe 15,000, which the population was
approaching when he left.
"We've come a long, long way since
the 1970s," Alt said. "Look at the range
and numbers of bears, and the recreational
opportunities - that's primarily happened
under Mark's watch. He did a fabulous
job!"
Ternent used more-advanced technology - satellites, trail cameras and better
telemetry gear - to answer questions
about bears that lingered after Alt moved
on.
40

"Today, dozens of radio-collars can be
tracked simultaneously by GPS satellites,
returning coordinates on bear movements
at any interval, including minutes apart,
if needed," Ternent explained.
Innovations also have improved bearcheck station reporting, population estimation and research collaboration, where
experts from other institutions or agencies
who team on projects can be transferred
data instantly, Ternent said.
"Mark's a better scientist than I ever
was, and proved to be the perfect guy to
manage bears for the past 20 years," Alt
said. "The agency has been very fortunate
to have him."
Both Ternent and Alt are quick to note
that countless employees, research partners and volunteers equally are responsible for gains to the Game Commission's
bear program. Without that help, both
believe Pennsylvania bear management
wouldn't be where it is today.
Ternent has now moved on to become
the Game Commission's Northcentral
Region Wildlife Management Supervisor.
The agency in February hired a replacement, Mike Hooker of the Wyoming Fish
and Game Department, who unfortunately died unexpectedly in June, when
the Game Commission launched a new
search to fill the position.
Ternent said whomever ends up with
the job will be managing a bear population still not at habitat carrying capacity,
which means there is room for more
bears. It was a situation he found himself
facing some 20 years ago as he became
the Game Commission's bear biologist.
And with record numbers of bears
and hunters, and a record number of
days for hunters to pursue bears in what
has become a world-famous hunting
destination, there promises to be plenty
of opportunity for years to come.

Pennsylvania Game News - November 2020

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