News from the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department
April 11, 2005
Phone: (603) 271-3211
Email: info@wildlife.state.nh.us
For information and online licenses, visit 
http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us

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CONTACT: 
Mark Ellingwood, (603) 271-2461 
Jane Vachon, (603) 271-3211
April 11, 2005


SPEAK UP ON BIG GAME MANAGEMENT GOALS:
PUBLIC MEETINGS APRIL 26 IN CONCORD; APRIL 28 IN LANCASTER 

CONCORD, N.H. -- Are you interested in how the N.H. Fish and Game 
Department determines its population management goals and objectives for 
deer, bear, moose and turkey? If so, then be sure to take this once in a 
"lifetime" (decade) opportunity to share your personal views regarding 
regional big game population levels. Fish and Game is asking for public 
input on proposed 10-year population goals for deer, bear, moose and 
turkey presented in the draft "Big Game Management Plan for 2006-2015." 

Two open-house meetings will be held, each with sessions from 3:30-5:00 
p.m. and again from 6:30-8:00 p.m. (participants may come at any time 
during the sessions to offer input): 
     * April 26 at N.H. Fish and Game headquarters on Hazen Drive in 
Concord; and 
     * April 28 at Fish and Game's Region 1 Office at 629B Main Street 
in Lancaster. 

"This is a great opportunity for our constituents to weigh in on the 
process," said Mark Ellingwood, Game Program Supervisor for Fish and 
Game. "These goals and objectives will serve as our big game management 
marching orders for the next 10 years. It's important to the Department 
that we get this right. We want all our constituents to be comfortable 
offering their opinions on the draft plan." 

Each informal open-house session will feature a station (table) for 
each of the 4 big game species under consideration -- deer, bear, moose, 
and turkey -- as well as a station representing the Public Working 
Group, to explain how draft goals and objectives were formulated. A 
biologist will be at each station to discuss the draft objectives, to answer 
questions and to record any input that you might like to offer. Draft 
plans will be available to all attendees, and key information regarding 
goals and objectives will be illustrated at each station. 

"These meetings will be a comfortable, casual opportunity for us to 
share information with the public, and for people to give us meaningful 
feedback on the draft goals and objectives," Ellingwood said. 

The draft goals and objectives for managing big game in New Hampshire 
over the next ten years were determined over the last nine months by a 
diverse group of about 30 wildlife stakeholders. Stakeholders have met 
monthly to develop big game population objectives for various management 
units/regions of our state. This stakeholder group, referred to as the 
Big Game Public Working Group, includes farmers, hunters, landowners, 
ecologists, Fish and Game commissioners, legislators and others. They 
are presenting their draft goals and objectives to the public through 
these meetings in order to get feedback. Public input received will be 
considered as the group formulates the final proposed goals and 
objectives, which will be presented to the Executive Director and the Fish and 
Game Commission for their review and approval in May. 

Once approved, these goals and regional population objectives (which 
vary from species to species) will serve as the foundation for Fish and 
Game's management program for the period 2006 through 2015 (the current 
plan runs from 1997-2005). The public is reminded that these objectives 
represent target values that Fish and Game will pursue over the next 
decade. These objectives do NOT speak to the issue of how Fish and Game 
will reach those targets. Specific strategies and seasons are developed 
or modified every two years, following season-setting rulemaking 
hearings. 

"People will continue to have the opportunity to attend our biennial 
season-setting hearings. Those hearings serve as the place where 
strategies for achieving our goals are formulated," Ellingwood said. "Fish and 
Game has been operating from a similar plan since 1997. With that plan 
coming to a close in 2005, it's simply time to revisit our management 
goals and objectives, to be sure they represent our collective ambitions 
for the next decade. It's been a great process, and we're delighted to 
present these proposals for public review. The big game plan represents 
an important component of our Department's overall comprehensive 
wildlife planning efforts. The final comprehensive plan, which will be 
completed later this year, will encompass both game and nongame interests."

The draft "Big Game Management Plan for 2006-2015" can be viewed after 
April 15 at the Fish and Game website, www.wildlife.state.nh.us.  

Those interested in offering written comments on the plan may send them 
by May 5, 2005, to: wilddiv@wildlife.state.nh.us (subject line should 
say "Big Game Plan"); or mail to: Big Game Plan, Wildlife Division, N.H. 
Fish and Game Department, 11 Hazen Drive, Concord, NH 03301; or fax to 
(603) 271-1438.
 
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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.