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Liberalized hunting regulations in a portion of southcentral Alaska resulted in an increased sport harvest of brown bears (Ursus arctos). A reduction in population density caused by increased hunter harvest was demonstrated using modified capture-recapture techniques. Density differences were documented between 2 areas of generally equivalent habitats but different patterns of hunter access as well as in the same area at 2 different times. Density estimates (for bears >2.0-years-old) were 6.7 bears/1,000 km2 (95% CI = 5.2-10.1) in the intensively hunted area compared to 10.5 (95% CI = 6.0-25.7) in the same area 8 years earlier, and 19.1 (95% CI = 16.7-23.2) in the less intensively hunted area. The total population density estimate was 10.51 bears/1,000 km2 in the intensively hunted area. Males constituted a smaller proportion of the population in the heavily hunted area compared to the less intensively hunted area and to the same area studied prior to onset of increased hunting pressure. There were relatively more younger males and more older females in the heavily hunted population.