* Thursday, April 7, 2011, at 6:30 p.m., at the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, 11 Hazen Drive, Concord, N.H. 03301; and

* Friday, April 8, 2011, at 6:30 p.m., at the Pittsburg School, 12 School Street, Pittsburg, N.H.

The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department is proposing to:

* readopt with amendment Fis 301.03 to restrict the taking of deer in wildlife management unit A (WMU A) during the bow and arrow season, the muzzleloader and the regular firearm seasons to a 3-point minimum antlered deer or antlerless deer.

* readopt with amendment Fis 301.01 to define “Three point minimum antlered deer” as a deer that has at least one antler 3 inches long measured from the tip of the main beam along the distal edge of the antler to the base of the antler burr at the skull, plus at least two antler points that branch from the main beam that are at least 1 inch from the tip to the confluence with the closest edge of the main beam.

“As part of the process of developing these proposals, Fish and Game received input from an unprecedented 7,870 hunters — that’s almost 12% of the nearly 66,000 hunters surveyed last fall,” said Fish and Game Wildlife Division Director Steve Weber. “It was determined that most hunters supported implementing buck age structure management techniques if called for based on our current deer management plan.” Based on the results of that survey, Fish and Game also determined that the best form of buck age structure management in this situation was to implement a 3-point APR in WMU-A only.

For more information on the complex issue of “buck age structure management” (the regulation of antlered buck harvest in an effort to reduce the harvest mortality rate of one or more buck age classes), visit http://www.huntnh.com/buckagestructure. The objective of such management is to try to provide a better opportunity for bucks to reach older ages.

“We understand this is a big change, and that there are a lot of hunters on both sides of the APR issue in New Hampshire,” said Weber. “At this point, we have not made a final decision on whether or not to implement the recommendation and will be seeking public input to help us make our final decision. We need folks to show up and voice their opinions or to submit written comments if we are going to make the best decision on this important issue.”

The complete rulemaking notice, with original and proposed rule language, can be viewed on the Fish and Game website. Go to http://www.wildnh.com/Legislative/Notices_summary.htm and click on “Deer Season Rules — Antler Point Restriction (APR).”

Written comments must be received by April 18, 2011. Send to: comments@wildlife.nh.gov (put “Comments on Deer Season Rules – APR” in subject line; or write to Executive Director, N.H. Fish and Game Department, 11 Hazen Drive, Concord, NH 03301; or fax to (603) 271-1438.

The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department is the guardian of the state’s fish, wildlife and marine resources and their habitats. Visit http://www.wildnh.com.

“The mild winter of 2009-10 combined with a reduced antlerless kill will help the state’s population recover from recent declines,” said Gustafson. Another mild winter and reduced antlerless kill in winter affected areas will increase deer numbers back toward the population objectives.

New Hampshire has an estimated population of about 85,000 deer, with the 2010 kill representing about 11.5% of that total. Deer hunting closed in the state on December 15, the final day of the archery deer season.

The unofficial deer kill for New Hampshire’s 2010 season by county, with comparisons to previous years, is posted at www.huntnh.com/Hunting/deer_hunt_take_by_County.htm. These figures are estimates based on the number of deer reported as being registered in each county (not necessarily killed in that county).

The unofficial harvest tally for New Hampshire’s 2010 bear season is 706 bears. While the harvest was down 7% from 2009, when 758 bears were taken (the second highest bear harvest in the state’s history), the 2010 season concluded 36% above the preceding 5-year-average of 520 bears. The 2010 harvest consisted of 361 males and 345 females.

Bear harvest distribution by method was 53% by bait hunters, 36% by still hunters and 11% by hound hunters. These harvest distributions are consistent with those achieved during recent years. While method-specific harvest percentages are influenced by the distribution and abundance of natural foods from one year to the next, hunter preference does play a significant role. Bear baiting has grown in popularity as reflected by harvest statistics.

A preliminary breakdown of 2010 bear season results by region and method may be found at www.huntnh.com/Hunting/bear_hunt_take.htm.

Final official numbers from the 2010 hunting seasons will be available in the 2010 New Hampshire Wildlife Harvest Summary, which comes out in March of 2011.

New Hampshire’s successful 2010 hunting seasons are a reminder that hunting activities, made possible by science-based wildlife management, contribute significantly to New Hampshire’s economy. The most recent U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service survey indicates that approximately 61,000 people hunt in New Hampshire, generating more than $75 million in hunting-related expenditures annually in the state.

The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department is the guardian of the state’s fish, wildlife and marine resources and their habitats. Visit www.huntnh.com.

“Opening day, hunting was hampered by rainy and windy conditions,” said Kristine Rines, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s moose biologist. “But Sunday was pretty much perfect,” she noted, with cool temperatures and clear skies in much of the state.

The biggest moose so far was a 970-pound bull (dressed weight) with an antler spread of 58 inches, taken on Sunday in WMU-E2 by Leslie Fox of Peterborough, N.H. Fox commented that it was a beautiful day for hunting, with fall foliage still bright and snow-covered Mt. Washington in the distance.

New Hampshire’s nine-day moose hunt continues through Sunday, October 24, 2010.

This year, more than 14,000 people entered the moose hunt lottery for a chance to win one of the 395 permits drawn for the New Hampshire moose hunt.

For more about moose hunting in New Hampshire, including a list of check stations, visit http://www.huntnh.com/Hunting/Hunt_species/hunt_moose.htm.

The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department is the guardian of the state’s fish, wildlife and marine resources and their habitats. Visit http://www.huntnh.com.

Fish and Game is proposing to readopt or readopt with amendment the rules relative to guide’s licenses. The proposed changes would:

* Add a practical skills portion to the existing requirement for basic first aid and CPR course
* Increase the time that an applicant applying for a guide’s license be free of any misdemeanor conviction
* Change the application and examination procedures for a guide’s license to:
o require an oral exam (pass/fail) in addition to the written exam
o allow applicants failing the written exam to apply for re-testing in 60 days the first time, and one year if a second time; if an applicant is unsuccessful in passing the oral exam, it can be rescheduled for the next available date
o specify the makeup of the examiners conducting the oral exam
o specify that a renewal applicant will not be required to take the oral or written exam if they held a guide’s license within the previous 7 years
* Require that guides meet the requirements for boat registration and licensing
* Not allow guides to personally hunt or fish while guiding
* Change information on the guide’s license application to add legal address and documentation that they hold a current basic first aid and CPR course, including a practical skills portion

The proposed rule, with original and proposed language, may be found at http://www.wildnh.com/Legislative/Notices_summary.htm.

Written comments on the proposed changes may be submitted by November 15, 2010; e-mail to comments@wildlife.nh.gov (put “Comment on Guide Rules” in subject line); fax to (603) 271-1438; or mail to Executive Director, N.H. Fish and Game Department, 11 Hazen Drive, Concord, NH 03301.

The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department works in partnership with the public to conserve manage and protect the state’s fish, wildlife and marine resources and their habitats. Visit http://www.wildnh.com.

Prospects for this year’s youth season are good, according to Kent Gustafson, Deer Project Leader for the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. New Hampshire’s deer population is healthy and will provide excellent opportunities and memorable experiences. In 2009, young hunters took 363 deer during the youth weekend in spite of heavy rain on Saturday.

“The weekend is a chance to introduce young people, under the careful guidance of an experienced adult, to deer hunting and to the natural wonders of New Hampshire’s woodlands,” said Gustafson. “You can build bonds for a lifetime while tracking a whitetail through the autumn woods or deciphering the sounds of the forest from a treestand. We hope hunters will spend the weekend with their sons and daughters, grandchildren or young friends, helping them to enjoy and appreciate our rural heritage, and teaching them the value of self-reliance and responsibility.”

Gustafson notes that hunting can help youngsters learn about the environment, conservation, tradition and ethics, and it can build a deep and abiding appreciation for the wildlife and wild places that many of our citizens and visitors cherish.

New Hampshire has offered a special youth deer hunt since 1999. The state also offers youth weekends for waterfowl hunting in the early fall and for turkey in the spring. For more about New Hampshire’s youth deer hunting weekend, visit http://www.huntnh.com/Hunting/Youth_deer_wknd.htm.

Fish and Game is conducting the survey to gather opinions from a wide range of hunters regarding their preferences as they pertain to buck age-structure management. Over the last few years, an increasing number of hunters have asked Fish and Game to implement buck age-structure management regionally or throughout the state in an effort to increase the number of older-aged (i.e. large-antlered) bucks available to hunters.

There are tradeoffs associated with various buck age-structure management options. “Because of these tradeoffs, which could result in significant changes to our basic hunting season structure, it’s important for us to understand how all deer hunters feel about this issue,” says Steve Weber, Chief of the Wildlife Division.

In order to identify the preferences and priorities of New Hampshire’s deer hunters, Fish and Game is conducting an unprecedented effort to survey every person who had a New Hampshire hunting license in 2009. Instructions on how to participate in the online survey will be mailed in November, and hunters will have two weeks to respond. The survey will be online only; due to cost and logistics, no paper copies of the survey will be issued.

Buck age-structure management is a complex issue, so to ensure that the topic is addressed in a balanced way, Fish and Game established a 15-member task force made up of hunters, wildlife biologists and Fish and Game Commissioners to cooperatively work on this effort. This task force has produced a package of background information about buck age-structure management for use by survey participants and anyone else interested in the issue, which is available now on the N.H. Fish and Game website at http://www.huntnh.com/buckagestructure. Fish and Game urges all deer hunters to familiarize themselves with this important information, as it will be essential to making informed decisions.

Remember – hunters won’t get the survey notice until sometime in early November, but anyone can look over the background information posted online right away. “Hunters’ participation is a critical part of the decision-making process,” said Weber.

Each hunter with a moose permit is assigned to hunt in one of 22 wildlife management units throughout the state; most have spent the past several weeks or months scouting out potential hunting spots. Each moose hunter may be accompanied by one partner. Last fall, New Hampshire hunters took 341 moose, for a statewide success rate of 65% (521 moose permits were issued in 2009). Hunters assigned to northern units typically have the greatest success, because of higher moose densities and excellent access to hunting lands in the North Country.

After taking a moose, hunters must have the animals registered and inspected at one of seven check stations around the state. There, wildlife biologists check each moose to gain information about the overall health of the moose herd. These check stations draw many interested onlookers, a reminder of the economic and symbolic importance of moose in New Hampshire, particularly in the North Country. You can find a list of moose check station locations at http://www.huntnh.com/Hunting/Hunt_species/hunt_moose.htm.

As part of a sound management strategy, the moose hunt has been an annual event in New Hampshire since 1988. In 1950, the state’s moose population was only about 50 animals; it had grown to over 4,100 by the time of the first moose hunt in 1988, when 75 permits were issued.

Hunters are reminded to avoid consuming moose liver and kidney. Studies conducted by Fish and Game and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service have revealed high levels of cadmium in some of the moose livers and kidneys sampled. As a result, officials from the Environmental Health Program at the N.H. Department of Environmental Services recommend that no moose kidney be eaten, and preferably no liver. If individuals do choose to eat moose liver, it should be from moose no older than 1.5 years. If the moose is older than that, consumption should be limited to a maximum of two meals (assuming six ounces per meal) of moose liver per year. Biologists at the moose check stations can determine the age of the animal for hunters. Further questions about the issue of cadmium in moose organs may be directed to David Gordon, DES Environmental Health Program: (603) 271-4608.

Applications for next year’s moose hunt will be available via the Fish and Game website or at license agents statewide from January to May 2011.

Visit a photo gallery of successful N.H. moose hunts — and find out more about moose hunting in New Hampshire — at http://www.huntnh.com/Hunting/Hunt_species/hunt_moose.htm.

“Wearing hunter orange has definitely been shown to decrease hunting incidents across the country,” said Tom Flynn, Manager of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s Owl Brook Hunter Education Center in Holderness. “It is important for hunters, because the overwhelming majority of hunting-related incidents involve members of hunting parties. Along with wearing blaze orange, the top safety rules for hunters are controlling the muzzle of your gun at all times and positively identifying your target and what’s beyond 100 percent of the time.”

A hunting-related shooting incident that happened the morning of October 2, 2010, the first weekend of pheasant season, underscores the importance of carefully following hunter safety precautions. Two pairs of hunters, all wearing blaze orange, were pursuing pheasants in Old Hill Village, a wooded flood control area in Franklin, N.H. One group flushed a bird. The other party’s dog pointed the bird, and a member of that party fired, even though they could hear the voices of the first pair of hunters. Mark Vachon of Hill, a member of the first group, was hit with shotgun pellets. He was able to walk out of the area; an ambulance then took him to Franklin Regional Hospital, where he was treated and released the same day.

“Wearing blaze orange is very important, but hunters also must know the location of their hunting party and of other hunters around them, at all times, especially at these pheasant-release sites,” said Fish and Game Conservation Officer Jim Kneeland, who responded to the incident. The incident remains under investigation; no additional information is available at this time.

Overall, New Hampshire has a good record for hunting safety. The average yearly number of hunting incidents in the state has gone steadily down since the 1960s. Progress in reducing hunting-related incidents can be attributed to both the widespread use of blaze orange clothing and mandatory hunter education. The first hunter education law was passed in New Hampshire in 1963, and hunter education became a requirement for all first-time hunters in the state in 1977. The 1960s saw an average of 21.4 hunting-related shooting incidents per year in New Hampshire. Fewer incidents have occurred each decade since, with an average of 3.1 incidents per year since 2000. Serious incidents are even rarer – a total of four hunting-related fatalities have occurred in the state in the last 15 years.

All pheasant hunters are urged to follow these basic safety guidelines:

Wear hunter orange on your head, back and chest.
Control your firearm muzzle at all times.
Always wear safety glasses.
Know where your hunting partners are at all times.
Shoot only within your zone of fire.
Be sure of your target and what is beyond.
Always keep your hunting dog under control.

While most hunting-related incidents do not involve nonhunters, hikers and other outdoor enthusiasts getting out to enjoy the fall woods should think safety as well, by sticking to established trails and wearing blaze orange during hunting seasons.

For more information on dates and details of N.H. hunting seasons, online license sales, or to download the N.H. Hunting Digest, visit http://www.huntnh.com/Hunting/hunting.htm.

Things are also looking good for New Hampshire’s 2010 woodcock season. Woodcock are the second most sought after small game species in New Hampshire, after ruffed grouse. Woodcock had an excellent nesting period this year with the early and dry spring, and broods were seen quite early. Woodcock hunting opens October 6 and runs through November 4, 2010.

Whether you hunt for grouse, woodcock or other small game species, you can help Fish and Game collect data — and have a chance to win a quality firearm — by taking part in one or both of the following surveys:

SMALL GAME SURVEY: This hunter survey provides Fish and Game with distribution, abundance and trend data on the state’s small game populations. Just for participating, you’ll be entered into a raffle for a firearm generously donated by Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. If you are a small game hunter and want to take part, visit http://www.huntnh.com/Hunting/Hunt_species/hunt_small_game.htm for details and to download a survey form, or call 603-271-2461.

WING AND TAIL SURVEY: For the last five years Fish and Game has conducted a survey on harvested ruffed grouse in northern New Hampshire. New for 2010, the wing and tail survey has been expanded throughout the ENTIRE state. Grouse wings and tails are submitted along with a survey card, providing Fish and Game with age, sex composition and distribution data on this most popular small game species. The Ruffed Grouse Society has generously donated a firearm to be raffled off to one of the survey participants. For more information, visit http://www.huntnh.com/Hunting/hunt_ruffed_grouse_survey.html or call 603-868-1095.

More information on small game seasons in New Hampshire, including season dates, bag limits and the “2009-2010 Small Game Harvest Summary Report” is available at http://www.huntnh.com/Hunting/Hunt_species/hunt_small_game.htm.

The birds will be distributed over three full stockings at all sites, generally on Thursdays and Fridays to maximize weekend hunting opportunities. Selected larger sites receive an additional stocking during the first and last weeks of October.

“Most of the pheasant release sites are on private lands, stocked with landowner permission and available to sportsmen only because of their cooperation,” said Fish and Game Pheasant Project Leader Karen Bordeau. “Please respect the property of these landowners, who make our pheasant-hunting tradition possible, by following all safety guidelines and by hunting courteously. Take the time to thank them for their generosity.”

The list of towns to be stocked (including road names) can be seen on the Fish and Game website at http://www.huntnh.com/Hunting/Hunt_species/hunt_pheasant.htm; printed lists are also available at Fish and Game headquarters and regional offices. Note that the former pheasant release site in Seabrook is closed this year because of a construction project, but is expected to reopen next year. Likewise, the boat ramp release site on Route 12A in Claremont will not be a stocking site for the 2010 season.

Pheasant hunters must purchase a $26 pheasant license, in addition to the regular New Hampshire hunting license or non-resident N.H. small game license. The fee increased to $26 this year because in 2009, pheasant license revenues did not cover the full cost of the stocked birds. At a public hearing, pheasant hunters strongly supported the option of increasing the fee rather than reducing the number of birds stocked. The increased fee is expected to sustain the program at its current level well into the future. Licenses can be purchased at http://www.huntnh.com or from any Fish and Game license agent.

All pheasant hunters are urged to follow these basic safety guidelines:
— Wear hunter orange on your head, back and chest.
— Control your firearm muzzle at all times.
— Always wear safety glasses.
— Know where your hunting partners are at all times.
— Shoot only within your zone of fire.
— Be sure of your target and what is beyond.
— Always keep your hunting dog under control.

For more information on pheasant hunting in New Hampshire, including online license and permit sales, visit http://www.huntnh.com/Hunting/Hunt_species/hunt_pheasant.htm.