The Department of Environmental Protection and New Jersey Fish and Game Council have approved a plan to expand the annual black bear hunt in New Jersey.

The plan includes a continuation of the annual December hunting season and also establishes an October hunting season to begin in 2016. There will also be expanded hunting zones in areas where bear incidents have been increasing.

"Hunting is an important tool in maintaining an ecological balance with our black bear population and is necessary to reduce the potential for conflicts between bears and people," DEP Commissioner Bob Martin said in a statement.

The 2015 hunting season will begin on Dec. 7 and last through Dec. 12. Effective this year, the current zones in which hunting is permitted will be expanded to include the remainders of Hunterdon and Morris counties, a small additional portion of Passaic County, and a small portion of Mercer County. Bear hunting will also be extended to all of Somerset County, with the exception of Franklin, according to the DEP.

The new October hunting season will encompass six days. The DEP says that those days will include three days for bow hunting only and three days for bow hunting and hunting with muzzle-loading guns. Bow hunting will enable hunting of "nuisance bears" that can be difficult to hunt by gun in certain areas.

According to a news release, the Division of Fish and Wildlife utilized studies conducted by Penn State University to estimate the bear population, which led to the decision to expand the hunt.

More information about the expanded bear hunt can be found at the Division of Fish and Wildlife website.