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N.H. Hunting Report - August 30, 2006 The N.H. Hunting Report is back, coming to you monthly in-season with the latest hunting news from Fish and Game. To unsubscribe, just follow the links at the end. Wildlife Division Administrative Secretary Anne Arpey reports that the summer season might be winding down, but here in the Wildlife Division, they are busy gearing up for another fall hunting season! What's hot? She's getting lots of calls about the new fall shotgun turkey season. This is a new five-day season that runs from October 16-20 in selected Wildlife Management Units in the western portion of the state. For more information on the new fall turkey season, click here. September 1 brings the start of the bear season; Bear Project Leader Andy Timmins sees a promising season ahead. Gray squirrel season also kicks off September 1 statewide except in WMUs A, B, C1 or in parks and cemeteries. The archery season gets underway September 15 and lasts through December 15, 2006. Plan to take a kid hunting on youth waterfowl weekend, which is September 23 and 24, 2006. If you want to hunt this fall, but don't have your Hunter Education certificate yet, sign up soon or you'll be out of luck! First time license holders have to take the class before they can get a hunting license in New Hampshire. Fish and Game offers hunter and bowhunter education classes, as well as trapper education. To find a class, click here or call (603) 271-3214. The N.H. Hunting Digest is your best source for hunting season dates and details; click here (and then click on the orange icon) to download, or pick up a copy at Fish and Game offices and license agents statewide. Click here to buy your N.H. hunting license online -- right now!
Plenty of Unit M Deer Permits Left 2006 Hunting Seasons at a Glance
BLACK BEAR: Starts Sept. 1 (end varies by WMU)
For hunting regulations and seasons, check the 2006-2007 N.H. Hunting Digest (click here and on the orange icon). Licenses and permits can be purchased online or from Fish and Game license agents statewide. <Return to top> A number of new regulations have been instituted in 2006 in support of N.H. Fish and Game's long-range Big Game Management goals. These include shortening the firearms season for deer in Wildlife Management Unit A (it closes a week early) to help maintain the quality of bucks in that area. In recent years, up to 60% of the antlered bucks taken in Unit A have been yearlings, with very few older bucks. The new deer management plan calls for no more than half the antlered bucks taken to be yearlings, so the season was shortened to re-establish an older age structure. For more information on this measure, click here. Starting this year, there will be a 5-day fall shotgun season for turkeys (Oct. 16 - 20, 2006) in WMUs D1, D2, G, H1, H2, I1, I2, and K. To participate, hunters must buy a special $11 fall turkey shotgun permit, available online as of September 1 at Fish and Game's licensing site, over-the-counter at Fish and Game's Concord headquarters, or click here for a print-and-mail application. Use the fall tag from your regular turkey license. Other rule changes: A limit was established on the number of bait sites allowed for individual hunters as well as guides. The number of moose permits increased to 675, part of an effort to modestly reduce the moose population in the Connecticut Lakes region. As mentioned before, more Special Unit M antlerless-only deer permits are being offered (a total of 5,500), reflecting a long-term goal of reducing deer numbers in the urbanized southeastern part of our state. In addition, the number of days of either-sex hunting for deer during the regular, muzzleloader and archery seasons has changed in some WMUs. For a 2006 WMU map and chart with N.H. deer dates, click here. <Return to top> The 2006 bear hunting season in New Hampshire looks very promising. The season opens September 1. During an average fall, 15,000 hunters will take 500 bears in New Hampshire, using three methods of harvest -- stalking, hounding and baiting. Although it is difficult to predict fall mast (berry and nut) production, early indicators suggest that key mast species may have an abundant crop this year. Mast surveys conducted by Fish and Game staff to date indicate that blueberries and raspberries produced fairly well across much of the state this summer. The blackberry crop in most regions looks phenomenal. Apple production appears spotty, but some local areas likely will have a crop. It appears that the state may see its best beechnut crop since 2000, which represents one of the most important sources of hard mast for bears in New Hampshire. If the cyclical trend of mountain ash remains consistent with previous years, mountain ash berries should be abundant this fall as well. The anticipated fall mast crop should create some exciting opportunities for bear hunters during the upcoming season. The key to success will be to scout out areas with the above-mentioned food sources and look for evidence of recent bear-feeding activity. If active bear sign is found in an area where available food remains, patience and persistence should yield success. An abundant beechnut crop will keep bears active late into fall, increasing the opportunity to harvest a bear during November. An abundant bear population in many regions of the state has resulted in overlap between bear season and the archery, muzzleloader and regular firearms seasons for deer. This creates the opportunity to combine a bear and deer hunt this fall. Finally, abundant mast that cause bears to remain active until the end of the bear season may create the opportunity to hunt and harvest a bruin on snow. - Andy Timmins, Fish and Game Bear Project Leader For more information on bear hunting in New Hampshire, click here.
Ask for a small game survey form by contacting wilddiv@wildlife.nh.gov; (603) 271-2461; or write to: Wildlife Division, 11 Hazen Dr., Concord, NH, 03301. Completed survey forms must be postmarked by April 15, 2007, to be entered into the raffle. Plan your scouting with a look at last year's results in the 2005/2006 Small Game Summary Report. To see it online, click here and on the publication cover, or pick up a copy at Fish and Game headquarters in Concord. For more about hunting small game in New Hampshire, click here. If you're heading to another state to hunt this fall, take care you don't bring chronic wasting disease (CWD) back to New Hampshire's deer herd. CWD is a serious threat -- a fatal neurological disorder that affects white-tailed deer, mule deer and elk. CWD is creeping closer to New Hampshire - last year it was detected in both captive and wild deer in New York. The disease has been found in wild or captive deer or elk in 14 states - Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming; and two Canadian provinces -- Alberta and Saskatchewan. So far, New Hampshire's deer population shows no evidence of CWD If you're hunting in any of the 16 CWD-positive jurisdictions, you MUST follow the regulations on importing deer or elk carcasses into New Hampshire. You may bring back ONLY deboned meat, antlers, upper canine teeth and/or hides or capes with no part of the head attached. Antlers attached to skullcaps or canine teeth must have all soft tissue removed. Remember, it's the law. To find out more about what New Hampshire is doing to prevent CWD from getting here, click here for a Q&A.
Final season dates and bag limits for the 2006-07 waterfowl hunting season have been set. The state's waterfowl hunting season is similar to last year's, with a 60-day duck season and a six-bird daily limit. Click here for waterfowl dates and bag limits. "Waterfowl populations in the Atlantic Flyway continue to do well," says Robinson. "In the northeast overall, and in N.H. particularly, mallard and wood duck are in good shape, and Canada goose populations remain at high levels. As a result, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has recommended liberal season frameworks for ducks." He cautions that there are some concerns about the status of black ducks, wigeon, scaup and pintails, as these species remain below population goals. Hunters of all migratory game birds need a 2006 New Hampshire hunting license and are required by federal law to register for the National Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program (HIP). Separate HIP permits are needed in each state. Licensed hunters should call 1-800-207-6183, or click here to get to Fish and Game's licensing site to get a permit number (there is no charge). Waterfowl hunters must also buy a federal and a state duck stamp.
New Hampshire is a leader in providing youth hunting opportunities. There's no minimum age for hunting in the Granite State -- though young hunters must be accompanied by a licensed adult -- and kids don't need a hunting license or hunter education certification until they reach their 16th birthday. (Kids do need permits for certain species, such as pheasant, turkey or bear; check the N.H. Hunting Digest.) The Nashua Fish & Game Association is hosting
a Sight-in Day to get your rifle ready for the hunting season on
October 15, 2006, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event is open to the
public and range officers will be available to assist. There is
a $5 fee for non-members -- 25 rounds (your ammo) or 60 minutes
- and a $5 fee for assisted bore sighting or scope alignment. For
directions, visit www.nfga.org. The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department is the guardian of the state's fish, wildlife and marine resources and their habitats. For previous New Hampshire hunting reports, click here. Click here to get this free monthly in-season report by email.  A
User-Pay, User-Benefit ProgramResearching, managing and restoring wildlife are funded by your license dollars and by the Federal Aid in Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program. Your purchases of hunting equipment, sporting firearms and ammunition make a difference to New Hampshire's wildlife resources and this state's way of life. Click here to learn more.
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