This fall, the DNR will issue a total of 12,760 bear hunting tags, a 4.9% escalate over last season. In December, a record 137,649 hunters applied, of which 105,748 applied only for a preference point and 31,901 for a bear license. Last fall, hunters recorded 4,110 bears. The DNR has set the harvest limit for this fall at 4,575 bears out of an estimated population of 25,400 animals.