MORRISTOWN (11/29/06) - Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose (R-24) today took issue with the New Jersey Supreme Court for declining to overturn a decision by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to cancel a proposed black bear hunt this year:

"An organized, controlled bear hunt would be the most effective and most responsible way to reduce the risk posed by the ever-expanding population of black bears in New Jersey," she said. "The dramatic increase in the state’s bear population poses a very real public safety issue that must be addressed.

"Unfortunately the (sic Corzine) administration has let this issue be driven not be concerns about what is the most effective and efficient way to deal with this problem, but rather by the pressure put on state officials by anti-hunting special interests.

"The entire approach by the administration and the courts have been unfair to hunters and it has been unwise as a matter of public policy. Hopefully, at some point logic and reason will again take hold on this issue," she said.