The state Department of Environmental Protection will issue 11,000 hunting permits this year, despite having less land to hunt.

The number is the same that was offered last year.

Just last week, Gov. Phil Murphy banned bear hunting on state land, which is about 700,000 acres.  

According to the Sierra Club, the issuing of 11,000 permits means the same number of hunters will be out there looking to kill the same number of bears.

They released this statement, "Governor Murphy did the first good thing in stopping hunting on state lands but the DEP is still allowing the same number of bears to be killed this year. Instead of a hunt, we need a much better bear education and management program that includes non-lethal tactics. We need to address human-bear interactions by dealing with habitat management and garbage control."