Ontario's pilot Spring Bear Hunt is being expanded

It’s a move local officials have been calling for, an expansion of the Spring Bear Hunt pilot program.

The province says it’ll be continued for another five years and will include non-resident hunters and all 88 wildlife management units.

The North Bay area was included in the initial two year pilot in 2014 and 2015.

The province says the pilot program was held in eight wildlife management units, all of which reported high levels of human-bear conflict.

The pilot is being expanded to gather further information to assess concerns voiced by northern communities about human-bear conflicts, and to support economic growth and tourism in the north.

Under the expanded pilot, it will still be illegal to hunt bear cubs and females with cubs.

The province also says baiting of bears during all bear hunting seasons will be regulated to help address public safety concerns.

Officials say Ontario is home to a healthy and sustainable black bear population with up to 105,000 black bears living in the province.

The spring bear hunt pilot will take place from May 1 through June 15, starting in 2016 and ending in 2020.