N.H. Hunting Report -- September 23, 2005

New Hampshire's hunting seasons are well underway by October. Don't 
miss out! And don't forget that you can BUY the license and permits you 
need for tomorrow morning online 24/7 at http://www.nhfishandgame.com (if 
you've bought a license since 2000). 

There are just a handful of Unit M Special Deer Permits left, and we 
expect these to go fast. The permits are sold for $13 on a first-come, 
first-served basis, available online at http://www.nhfishandgame.com or 
at Fish and Game's Concord headquarters.

Your best source for hunting season dates and details is the 2005-2006 
N.H. Hunting Digest, now available at 
http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Hunting/hunting.htm (click on the 
orange icon), or from Fish and Game offices and license agents statewide. 

IN THIS ISSUE:  
   * Bear Season News
   * 2005 Pheasant Program Update
   * Have a Safe Pheasant Hunt 
   * Youth Waterfowl Days - This Weekend! 
   * Archery Hunter Observation Logs Help F&G 
   * CWD Detected in West Virginia

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BEAR SEASON NEWS
By Eric Orff, Wildlife Biologist

Biologist Andy Timmins, Fish and Game's Bear Project Leader, just 
released his first fall bear hunting season update. Andy says as of 
September 20th, the bear kill was at 162 bears, which is 57 percent below the 
near record year last year, and 45 percent below the five-year average. 
He says Fish and Game's mast survey tells us that wild foods are more 
available this year than during several of the last years. The wild 
apple crop looks good. Many areas have some acorns, with some areas in the 
central and southern parts of the state reporting exceptional acorn 
crops. Beechnuts seem to be non-existent this year most places. There have 
been fewer bears killed in cornfields this year, suggesting, too, that 
wild foods are more plentiful this year than the last two years.

2005 IN-SEASON BEAR HARVEST TALLY
COMPARED TO PREVIOUS 5 YEARS (as of 9/20/05)

            2000   2001   2002   2003   2004   2005
DATE: 
9/1-9/7       75    116     80    249    173     79
9/8-9/14     145    206    132    381    278    160
9/15-9/20    182    275    164    474    377    162

New Hampshire's bear hunting season began September 1. Ending dates 
vary by type of hunting and WMU. Check the current N.H. Hunting Digest for 
details. For more information on bear hunting in New Hampshire, visit 
http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Hunting/Hunt_species/hunt_bear.htm.


2005 PHEASANT PROGRAM UPDATE
By Karen Bordeau, Fish and Game Pheasant Project Leader 

Pheasant season opens October 1 and continues through December 31. 
There is a daily bag limit of two and a season limit of ten. A hunter may 
harvest two hens as part of the daily limit. To hunt pheasant, you must 
have a valid New Hampshire hunting license and pheasant license. 
Non-residents may hunt with a pheasant license and either a non-resident 
hunting license or a non-resident small game license. The pheasant license 
fee is $16 for both residents and non-residents.

Pheasants are purchased with revenues from the sale of pheasant 
licenses. This year 13,500 pheasants are being purchased from Valley Game Farm 
of Catskill, New York. There will be approximately 75 stocking sites 
throughout the state this year. Most of these sites, almost two-thirds, 
are on private lands. Sites are stocked with the landowner's permission 
and available to sportsmen only because of their generous cooperation. 
The Department asks sportsmen to respect the rights of these landowners 
and encourages hunters to express their appreciation to the landowners 
who make the pheasant program possible. 

Distribution of birds will occur through four stockings this year. Fish 
and Game asks hunters to refrain from training dogs at release sites 
three days prior to October 1. Dog training flushes pheasants from the 
release sites, often onto posted property or other areas not suitable for 
hunting. 

Based on a review of the stocking program and the results of the 
Pheasant Hunter Survey, the schedule and release of information has changed 
this year. Birds will be released on Thursdays and Fridays, with the 
exception of the late October stocking, which will occur on a Wednesday. 
The list of towns stocked is revised this year and will include road 
names. This list is available on the Fish and Game website at 
http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Hunting/Hunt_species/hunt_pheasant.htm.


HAVE A SAFE PHEASANT HUNT 
By Sean Williamson, Hunter/Trapper Education Coordinator

Pheasant hunting is a safe and enjoyable way to spend a day in the 
field, especially if you follow some basic safety guidelines. Choose your 
hunting partners carefully, know that they understand and follow the 
rules of safe firearms handling and only hunt with those that do. Control 
the muzzle of your firearm and know where your hunting partners are at 
all times. Keep in constant communication with them. Only shoot within 
predetermined zones of fire established by you and your hunting 
partners. A lot of pheasant hunting takes place on working farms and the sites 
attract many other hunters, so be sure of your target and what is 
beyond. Hunting with a dog can be very enjoyable and a great asset in 
finding downed birds, but they must be kept under control at all times. 
Lastly, but far from least, wear safety glasses -- and hunter orange on your 
head, back, and chest. Be sure you can be seen and ensure that you will 
see in the future!


YOUTH WATERFOWL DAYS -- THIS WEEKEND! 
by Ed Robinson, Waterfowl Biologist

New Hampshire's 2005 Youth Waterfowl Hunting Days will be held 
statewide on Saturday, September 24; and Sunday, September 25. To take part, 
youths must be 15 years of age or younger and must be accompanied by a 
properly licensed adult age 18 or older. The adult may not hunt. It's a 
great way to get kids involved in waterfowl hunting by giving them a 
chance to go along with an adult who knows the sport, at a time when lots 
of birds are around. So take a kid hunting and pass along your love of 
the sport.

The hunting rules and daily bag limits for young hunters are the same 
as those for license-holders in the open season. Specific seasons and 
bag limits for various waterfowl are listed on the Fish and Game website 
at 
http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Hunting/Hunt_species/hunt_waterfowl.htm.

The regular inland waterfowl season starts October 4 this year, with 
coastal hunting starting the next day, on October 5. 


ARCHERY HUNTER OBSERVATION LOGS HELP F&G 
By Eric Orff, Wildlife Biologist

By now our archery hunters are off and running, well actually not 
running, but spending hundreds of hours in lofty tree stands. Archery 
hunters take a significant number of deer early in the season. In fact, 
nearly half the deer killed by archers are taken by the end of September. 
Even if most archery hunters will not bag a big buck, about a thousand of 
them will capture some important information for Fish and Game. Since 
1997, archery hunters successful the year before are mailed an 
observation log by Fish and Game. Since archery hunters took 2,158 deer in 2004, 
there should be a whole lot of hunters' eyes looking to log information 
for 2005.

These tree stand lookers are asked to keep tabs on the number of 
squirrels, grouse, turkeys, fisher, bears and bobcats they see. Also, the 
hunters are asked to tell us how much time they spent swaying amongst the 
tree branches. These lofty, Tarzan-like hunters have provided thousands 
of hours of observations. The results are calculated as mean number of 
animals seen per 100 hours of observation.

Since the survey was started, hunters sending in the log have reported 
between 10,000 and 20,000 hours of time aloft each year, for an average 
of three and a half hours per day. Observation rates -- remember this 
is numbers of animals seen per 100 hours of looking -- has varied 
significantly from year to year and in different parts of the state, as you 
would expect. But overall, it is an independent way to gauge wildlife 
population changes from year to year.

Practically everyone sees squirrels, animals that certainly shoot that 
extra dose of adrenaline into your system when you least expect it. You 
are thinking, BIG Buck; squirrels look up and think, BIG NUT. Squirrels 
are seen at a rate varying from 16.58 in 2000 to a high of 71.15 in 
2001. That was 8,270 squirrels stared down in 2001! Grouse numbers have 
been more stable, at 11.36 to 17.22. As you would expect, you have to 
spend a whole lot of time in a tree to see a fisher or a bobcat. Fisher 
sightings are down around 1.33 seen per hundred hours, and bobcats at 
0.05, which means you really need to stay awake a long time to see one.


CWD DETECTED IN WEST VIRGINIA DEER

If you're heading outside New Hampshire's borders to hunt this fall, 
especially if you are planning hunting trips to New York, West Virginia, 
or one of several states out west, take care not to 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. This year, CWD was detected in both captive and wild 
deer in New York State, and two deer in West Virginia have been found 
with the disease, bringing CWD closer than ever before to New Hampshire. 

CWD 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, Wisconsin, West Virginia and Wyoming; 
and two Canadian provinces -- Alberta and Saskatchewan. 

So far, New Hampshire's deer population shows no evidence of CWD, and 
we all want to keep it that way. 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.
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For previous hunting reports, go to 
http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Hunting/hunting_report.htm.

To sign up for other e-newsletters from Fish and Game visit 
http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Inside_FandG/join_mail_list.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.wildlife.state.nh.us. 

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-- 
Copyright 2005 New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, 11 Hazen Drive, 
Concord, NH 03301.  Comments or questions concerning this list should 
be directed to lpoinier@wildlife.state.nh.us.