“[Bears] will become established in Eastern Massachusetts if we don’t increase the harvest from our hunting seasons,” black bear state biologist Dave Wattles warned the board on Wednesday. Shortly after his presentation, the board voted for the expanded season.
If adopted by the governor’s office, the bear hunting season will be extended by more than a month, and the state will create youth bear hunting permits. Currently, bears may only be hunted during three different periods in the fall: about three weeks in September, three weeks in November, and during the shotgun deer season, which is typically in early December. Youth ages 12 to 17 may only hunt bears by using an adult’s permit, meaning that the adult may not also kill a bear that year if the youth they are supervising does.
Under the new regulations, bear hunting would be allowed continuously from Labor Day through early December. That means hunters could kill bears throughout October, which was previously off-limits. State officials expect the regulations to take effect in 2026.
Black bears were once almost eliminated from the Commonwealth due to deforestation. They’ve made a dramatic comeback: Currently, there arearound 4,500 black bears in Massachusetts.
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Wattles said the goal of the new regulations is to keep the population stable — below 5,000 bears, roughly — and stop the population growth.
Around 250 bears per year are taken by hunters in Massachusetts. Regulators want to almost double that number to between 450 and 500 bears killed by hunters per year. Wattles estimates that figure would stabilize the Massachusetts bear population but not reduce it.
Most bears that traverse into Eastern Massachusetts are killed in vehicle collisions with cars and trucks, Wattles said in an interview. He worries that if too many bears become established in urban parts of the state, the public’s perception of bears will sour, a concept known in wildlife biology as the “cultural carrying capacity.”
“Our bear population is very healthy,” Wattles said. “We want to maintain bears, and manage them at levels that are compatible with modern Massachusetts.”
Bears once roamed across the entire state, but after Europeans arrived in what is now Massachusetts, massive deforestation in the 1800s converted the forest into agricultural land, nearly eliminating bears and other forest-dwelling species from the landscape. In 1940, there were fewer than 10 black bears present in the state.
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As the land was reforested in the 20th century, however, the bears returned. By the mid-1970s, the population reached around 100 bears; by the 1980s, around 500; and today, it’s nearing 5,000.
Though the trees have returned, new threats to bear habitat have emerged: Black bear habitat is disappearing across the United States due to suburban sprawl and urban growth, a trend that increases the odds of human encounters.
“We have a real problem with black bears,” said Bob Durand, a member of the board and former state environmental secretary. “It’s an issue of … how many black bears we can allow in the Commonwealth before real damage is done.”
“We are trying to get ahead of the problem,” he added. “Frankly, we get a ton of calls [about bears] and it takes up a lot of resources.”
Comments by the public on the expanded hunting season were mixed: Many individuals protested the change, asking the state to “leave the bears alone” and to relocate problem bears rather than increase hunting. Many others, however, wrote in favor of the regulations and, in their comments, complained about increased encounters with bears on their property.
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The bear problem poses a question of “how much a society is willing to accept living with nature,” said Brittany Ebeling, deputy director of the Berkshire Environmental Action Team, a conservation nonprofit. She said that in general, she was disappointed with the board’s decision to expand hunting rather than to increase public education in the Commonwealth.
“It doesn’t feel like we’ve tried everything, or to do deterrence-based strategies [first],” Ebeling said.
But Wattles, the state biologist, argues that education is not enough to stop bear encounters: “The public has heard it all,” he said, noting that he does dozens of press interviews and public educational events every year about how to reduce bear activity in neighborhoods. The biggest issue is that people leave easy-to-access food sources for bears outside on their decks and in their backyards, he said.
“Getting the public to change their behaviors and take this message seriously, unfortunately, just doesn’t work,” he said.
Patti Steinman, a naturalist for Mass Audubon based in Western Massachusetts, said that it’s not unusual to see a bear as often as once a week when they are active. She emphasized that residents need to bring bird feeders inside overnight or not use them at all, and also to clean up any pet food outdoors.
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“We as homeowners need to be responsible,” Steinman said. “The most dangerous wild animal is one that loses its fear of people. We need to respect them … They are here to stay.”
Erin Douglas can be reached at erin.douglas@globe.com. Follow her @erinmdouglas23.
Prediction market platform Kalshi is being accused of offering illegal betting to Massachusetts residents in a new lawsuit brought by a man who said he struggles with gambling addiction. The lawsuit is the latest escalation in a fight over the industry’s operations in the Bay State.
Here are notable performances from boys’ lacrosse players competing in Eastern Mass. conferences/leagues in the past week.
Tomas Babine, Winthrop — The senior became a jack of all trades during a 13-2 victory over Malden Catholic on Monday, scoring a hat trick along with an assist, winning all three of his faceoff attempts, and jumping in net for the last five minutes to make two saves.
Mason Gadbois and Evan Roach, Danvers — Gadbois, a senior, scored four goals and delivered five assists in a 19-5 win over Peabody on Friday, after netting five goals and two assists in a 13-11 victory against Winthrop the day prior. Roach, a senior FOGO, went 22 for 26 on faceoffs with a goal and an assist against Peabody, and finished 19 of 27 from the X vs. Winthrop.
Cole Hogencamp, Mansfield — The Brown-bound junior began his week with two goals and three assists in a 16-4 win against Westwood on Thursday, followed by a six-goal performance to clinch the Chowda Cup title in an 11-9 win against Marshfield on Saturday. For good measure, he posted a hat trick to defeat Sharon, 16-5, on Monday.
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Freddy Torcasio, Newton North — The senior, committed to Roger Williams, erupted for six goals and three assists during a 13-6 win over Waltham on Saturday, then fired in four more goals to beat Milton, 9-1, on Tuesday.
Greg Walsh, Westwood — The junior middie found the net four times and supplied two assists to fight off a comeback attempt and defeat Falmouth, 13-11, to earn third place in the Chowda Cup on Saturday. On Monday, he collected three goals and three assists in a 15-3 triumph over Ashland.
Connor Wicken, Reading — The Albany-bound junior attack reached 100 career points through a four-goal, one-assist performance to defeat Catholic Memorial, 17-7, on Thursday. He then provided an identical 5-point day during a tight 12-11 win over North Andover on Saturday, for a fifth-place finish in the Players Cup.
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Cameron Pellegrino can be reached at cameron.Pelegrino@globe.com. Follow him on X @cam_pellegrino.
Minogue would be wise to focus on state politics, not Trump policies
By Abdallah Fayyad
Moderate Republicans have become a rare breed in Massachusetts. President Trump and his politics loom large in the state, and his polarizing actions have only strengthened the Democrats’ grip on power. Since former governor Charlie Baker, a Republican, left office, the GOP has been effectively locked out of state government, and there’s little reason to believe that’s going to change anytime soon.
The Massachusetts Republican Party has now endorsed Mike Minogue, a former biotech executive, as its candidate for governor. Mike Kennealy, who served as the secretary of housing and economic development under Baker, was viewed as the more moderate candidate. But the state party resoundingly rejected him: 70 percent of the party’s delegates at the nominating convention chose Minogue over Kennealy and Brian Shortsleeve, a former MBTA general manager. While Shortsleeve will still be on the primary ballot in September, Kennealy was eliminated, since he did not clear the 15 percent threshold required to make the ballot.
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Minogue, who has poured some $12.5 million into his campaign, is a prolific Republican donor, and he even hosted Vice President JD Vance at a fund-raiser last year. Regardless of how much he tries to court moderate voters across the state, it will be extremely difficult for him to meaningfully distance himself from Trump between now and November.
It’s not just a matter of optics. Minogue has wasted no time making his priorities known, and he’s aligned himself with several key Trump policies, promising to get “criminal illegal immigrants off our streets” and declaring that “girls need fair and safe sports.” That sort of politics may have helped Trump win the presidency in 2024, but it won’t help Minogue in a state where Trump got only 36 percent of the vote.
If Minogue wants to have any shot at all at winning the governor’s race, he would be wise to just focus on state politics. He drew raucous applause from the convention crowd, for example, when he pledged that he would repeal the MBTA Communities Act, which encourages building denser and transit-oriented housing and was signed into law by Baker. While I think that law is important in combating Massachusetts’ housing crisis, it’s proved to be controversial and has generated substantial backlash, even in liberal parts of the state.
A talented politician could use issues like that to make Governor Maura Healey, a Democrat, worry. But as long as the Massachusetts GOP keeps aligning itself with Trump — and as long as Trump is still president — Healey will cruise to reelection without breaking a sweat.
A Mike Minogue supporter outside the Massachusetts GOP convention on April 25.Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff
Mike Minogue’s kiss of death
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By Joan Vennochi
Mike Minogue made his money and mark in business selling pumps for artificial hearts.
Now, as the Massachusetts Republican Party’s endorsed candidate for governor, he must win over enough voters’ hearts to defeat Governor Maura Healey, a Democrat.
That’s a tough sell for Minogue, who last year hosted Vice President JD Vance at a fund-raiser and donated to President Trump’s re-election bid and the Republican National Committee.
In a recent WBUR profile, the former head of Abiomed also said, “I am pro-life. I support a culture of compassion and life. I spent a career in the medical device industry helping to save lives, young and old, and I also think that we can do more to help people in a time of crisis.”
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Nicely put, but still a kiss of death with the state’s liberal voters.
Within the tiny universe of Republican activists who attended last weekend’s convention, Minogue had four advantages: private-sector success, a military background (he’s a West Point graduate and served in Iraq), no other big races to be voted on, and lots of his own money to spend on organizing.
Of the three candidates seeking the party’s endorsement, Minogue was also the most politically conservative. But what made him attractive to the Trumpian base that now controls the Massachusetts GOP makes him a very challenging sell as a statewide candidate.
Out of the state’s 5.5 million registered voters, only 420,000 are Republicans. To have any chance at beating Healey, he has to do what every successful Republican gubernatorial candidate has done — tap into the 3.25 million voters who are registered as unenrolled or independent, and who make up the largest voter pool.
To woo them, Minogue will likely try to focus on management and fiscal issues. According to a recent UNH Survey Center poll, 49 percent of Massachusetts residents approve of Healey’s handling of the job, 45 percent disapprove, and 6 percent don’t know or are undecided. She gets her worst ratings on her handling of taxes, the economy, housing, and the cost of living.
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While that might seem like an opening, Massachusetts Democrats will surely do everything they can to hang Trump around Minogue’s neck. He also has a primary fight with Brian Shortsleeve, the other Republican who won enough votes at the convention to get on the ballot.
That GOP primary fight could push the candidates even further to the right. If it does, the GOP can forget about beating Healey.
Even if it doesn’t, I still think the woebegone Red Sox have a better chance at winning the World Series than any Massachusetts Republican has at winning the governor’s office.
The issues that could sink Healey (if only Trump weren’t president)
By Charles Chieppo
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The Republican convention that endorsed Mike Minogue to be the GOP standard-bearer for governor was a low-turnout affair, as is too often the case with Republican politics in Massachusetts.
At the convention, only about 1,800 out of more than 4,000 eligible delegates cast a vote. Next comes the primary on Sept. 1, when Minogue will face venture capitalist and former MBTA chief Brian Shortsleeve, who finished a distant second at the convention. Chances are good that that race will be closer.
Gubernatorial candidate Brian Shortsleeve at the Massachusetts GOP convention on April 25.Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff
Like recent Republican governors in Massachusetts, both candidates promise to make the Commonwealth more affordable and business-friendly, and both pledge to control state spending. But unlike their predecessors, they also warn about the high cost of illegal immigration. Neither is critical of the Republican president. And while they share many positions — both running primarily on pocketbook issues — Minogue calls himself a “born-again Catholic” and is anti-abortion, while Shortsleeve is largely silent on the issue.
History teaches us that the eventual nominee is likely to move to the center during the general election. But does that mean the eventual Republican nominee will at some point criticize President Trump? Hard to say.
The two candidates have no shortage of ammunition to use against the almost certain Democratic candidate, Governor Maura Healey. For a decade beginning in 2010, Massachusetts had the second highest rate of business formation among the states, but between January 2020 and September 2024, we had the lowest net rate of any state. Today Massachusetts is one of just four states to have fewer private-sector jobs than in 2020. Outmigration has risen dramatically since 2012.
Housing, health care, and energy costs are through the roof, and taxes are high compared to other states. A key reason is that Massachusetts spends too much. Since 2010, median household income has grown by 13 percent, but real state spending is up 28 percent.
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Healey has taken steps to address the housing shortage by limiting the power of municipalities to stop development and making surplus state land available for housing. But she has shown little stomach for challenging her party and its interest groups by reining in state government and cutting high costs that are eroding the Commonwealth’s competitiveness.
As is usually true, the case against one-party government is strong. Nonetheless, there’s a simple reason why the outlook remains grim for Massachusetts Republicans this November: Trump.
Trump’s tariffs have exacerbated the affordability problem he pledged to fix. Rather than addressing the nearly $38 trillion national debt that looms over our children, the United States spends $2 billion a day fighting Iran – precisely the kind of “forever war” he promised to avoid.
Many Trump policies hit Massachusetts especially hard. His war on immigration extends to highly educated immigrants on whom Massachusetts depends to make up for losses to outmigration, and cuts to university and medical research strike at the heart of the state economy.
Absent Trump, this fall’s election might be a real opportunity for the Massachusetts Republican Party. But anti-Trump fervor is likely to drive turnout among Democrats and independents eager to register their disdain.
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Charles Chieppo is the principal of Chieppo Strategies, a public policy communication firm, and a senior fellow at Pioneer Institute, a Boston-based public policy think tank.
This is an excerpt from Globe Opinion’s weekly politics newsletter Right, Left, and Center. Sign up here to get it delivered directly to your inbox.
Abdallah Fayyad can be reached at abdallah.fayyad@globe.com. Follow him @abdallah_fayyad. Joan Vennochi is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at joan.vennochi@globe.com. Follow her @joan_vennochi.
