New Jersey Bear Season 2026-27
By fall, their diet will consist mostly of hard mast items, such as acorns, beechnuts and hickory nuts. Throughout late summer and fall, black bears need to consume a minimum of 20,000 calories a day to prepare for the winter den season.
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Fish and WildlifeSegment B: December 7, 2026 to December 12, 2026. People report black bears in New Jersey most in June, and 22 percent of all reports fall in September, October and November. Everything below is New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Fish and Wildlife’s own words and dates, read on September 19, 2026, beside the record of what people reported.
When black bears are most active in New Jersey
NJDEP Fish and Wildlife says the black bear population has been increasing and expanding southward and eastward from the forested areas of northwestern New Jersey since the 1980s, with confirmed sightings in all 21 counties. Its biologists calculated a 2020 estimate of 3,158 bears for the region north of Interstate 78 and west of Interstate 287.
The bars count research grade American black bear observations people uploaded to iNaturalist for New Jersey, by calendar month, across every year the platform holds. The busiest month in the record is June, and reports drop below 40 percent of that peak by October. The drop into winter reflects bears denning and fewer people outdoors in equal measure, which is why the agency’s sentences below, not the curve, carry the timing.
716 research grade American black bear observations have been uploaded to iNaturalist for New Jersey across every year the platform holds, and 22 percent of them fall in the three shaded fall months. The busiest month in the record is June, and reports drop below 40 percent of that peak by October. These are counts of what people reported, so they measure observers as well as bears; they are not a population, not a survey and not a statement about this autumn. See the records on iNaturalist.
Research grade black bear reports uploaded for New Jersey by year, 2016 to 2025: 12 in 2016 and 75 in 2025. Most of the climb is the platform itself growing, and every species on it shows the same shape, so this is a record of reporting rather than a population trend.
What New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Fish and Wildlife says
Fall feeding
By fall, their diet will consist mostly of hard mast items, such as acorns, beechnuts and hickory nuts. Throughout late summer and fall, black bears need to consume a minimum of 20,000 calories a day to prepare for the winter den season.New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Fish and Wildlife, read September 19, 2026. Read it at the source
Denning
Black bears begin entering their winter dens in the fall to avoid periods of food shortage and severe weather. Impregnated females typically enter dens first, during the last week in October. Males may not enter dens until December.New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Fish and Wildlife, read September 19, 2026. Read it at the source
When conflicts and sightings rise
Black bears actively forage for food in the spring after they emerge from dens and in the fall when they are actively feeding to prepare for the winter den period. Black bears are also very active throughout the summer breeding season. These are the times of year when black bear/human encounters are most common, due to bears searching for food.New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Fish and Wildlife, read September 19, 2026. Read it at the source
New Jersey bear seasons, 2026-27
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Fish and Wildlife dates American black bear seasons under its own names, and each is below under that name with the zone rows exactly as the agency lists them, the source page linked beside each table, and the date it was read.
Segment B
publishedSegment B opens in 58 days, on December 7, 2026 (Black Bear Management Zones 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5).
| Zone | Opens | Closes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Bear Management Zones 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 | December 7, 2026 | December 12, 2026 |
Dates read from Bear Hunting Season Information, NJDEP Fish and Wildlife, accessed 2026-09-19.
New Jersey's bear season runs in two agency named segments under the 2022 Comprehensive Black Bear Management Policy. Segment B is the December segment, open for 2026 in Black Bear Management Zones 1 through 5 only; a conditional four day extension the department may announce afterward is listed under other seasons.
Segment A
publishedSegment A opens in 2 days, on October 12, 2026 (Black Bear Management Zones 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5).
| Zone | Opens | Closes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Bear Management Zones 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 | October 12, 2026 | October 17, 2026 |
Dates read from Bear Hunting Season Information, NJDEP Fish and Wildlife, accessed 2026-09-19.
Segment A is the October segment of New Jersey's two segment bear season, open for 2026 in Black Bear Management Zones 1 through 5 only. The department dates the segment's final three days, October 15 to 17, as a separate line in its table.
Spring bear season
no seasonNew Jersey holds no spring bear season. New Jersey holds no spring bear season. The department's 2026 Black Bear Season Dates list only Segment A in October and Segment B in December, with a possible December extension. Source: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Fish and Wildlife.
Other New Jersey bear seasons the agency names
Segment B extension
publishedSegment B extension opens in 67 days, on December 16, 2026 (Black Bear Management Zones 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5).
| Zone | Opens | Closes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Bear Management Zones 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 | December 16, 2026 | December 19, 2026 | Conditional; opens only if the department announces it after the regular part of Segment B |
Dates read from Bear Hunting Season Information, NJDEP Fish and Wildlife, accessed 2026-09-19.
The department's season page dates a Wednesday to Saturday extension of Segment B that the Assistant Commissioner may announce after the regular part of Segment B, based on the season's results, with notice posted on its website and hunting email list.
The agency's own season sentence
For the 2026 season, only zones 1–5 are open for bear hunting.New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Fish and Wildlife, read September 19, 2026. Read it at the source
Current New Jersey regulations
Permit and tag requirements, zone maps, permitted methods, tagging and reporting, and everything else a bear hunter is bound by for New Jersey are set by New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Fish and Wildlife, are legally binding and change annually. Its current regulations page is linked here.
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Fish and Wildlife: current regulations
Bear season in other states
New Jersey bear season questions
This page covers the 2026-27 season year with agency data read on September 19, 2026 and an iNaturalist record to September 19, 2026. Every sentence about bear behaviour is New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Fish and Wildlife’s own, quoted exactly with a link to its page; every season window is republished from the agency page linked beside it, and windows the agency had not yet published are labelled not yet published. The month bars count what members of the public reported and are not a population. See also the national bear season guide.