Black bears historically ranged over most of the forested regions of North America, including all Canadian provinces, Alaska, all states in the conterminous United States, and significant portions of northern Mexico (Hall 1981). Their current distribution is restricted to relatively undisturbed forested regions (Pelton 1982; Pelton et al. 1994). Black bears can still be found throughout Canada with the exception of Prince Edward Island (extirpated in 1937), and in at least 40 of the 50 states; their status in Mexico is uncertain (Leopold 1959).  In the eastern United States black bear range is continuous throughout New England but becomes increasingly fragmented from the mid-Atlantic down through the Southeast (Maehr 1984). In the Southeast, most populations are now restricted to the Appalachian mountain chain or to coastal areas intermittently in all states from Virginia to Louisiana (J. Wooding, Florida Freshwater Fish and Game Commission, unpublished data).