If you ever went to the Black Oak Inn (Land O Lakes) years ago and wondered why there was a large scale hanging on the porch (side door), there were bear registration stations scattered throughout the Northwoods with Black Oak Inn being one of those stations. When a bear was harvested it had to be brought to one of these stations to be registered and Monica and I came close to seeing this process. We were told by the old owners, when a hunter brought in a bear 95% of the bar would empty out to not only see the bear but wanted to know how much the bear weighed.

So, years ago, Monica and I were at Black Oak Inn and the owner (BUCK) at the time told us, he received a call, and a bear was being brought in to be registered, and asked Monica if she would like to pull the bear’s tooth, adding it’s not as hard as you would think. (MORE ON THAT BELOW). Of course, and with excitement, she said yes, I mean, how many people can say they had a chance to do something like that? After waiting more than an hour, I said the hunter is, either A) going around showing his/hers prize off, B) Having trouble getting the bear out of the woods or C) Both of the above.

After harvesting a bear, the hunter has until 5pm the following day after the bear was tagged to be registered. Here is some information required from the hunter that has to be submitted by 5pm the following day. The carcass tag number, county of harvest, zone unit, was the bear a male or female and type of permit. Then, for DNR’s BEAR MANAGEMENT PROGRAM, it’s mandatory to extract the two upper premolar teeth and mail it in the supplied envelope to the DNR. After the teeth are analyzed by DNR biologists, the hunter will be notified of the bears age by growth rings and if a female, when she had her first cub/cubs

Since March 2016, bears are now registered electronically on-line, by phone or a station that provides a phone or computer for the hunter to use. The DNR calls this progress, saying it’s all about making things easier for the hunters, but I say it’s all about saving money and now, there’s another great Northwoods tradition gone. Was Monica disappointed when we left the bar without pulling a bear’s tooth? Of course she was. Well, jump ahead 8 years and a friend knowing pulling a bear’s tooth was on Monica’s bucket list, stopped by our house telling her he was in need of a dentist. Thats one check mark off her list.

If you never witnessed an in-person bear registration, being a hunter or not, you missed seeing something you would never forget. Unfortunately, it is another great Northwoods tradition that is a thing of the past?