New Hampshire Hunting Report – May 2, 2007

By Jim on May 2nd, 2007

N.H. HUNTING REPORT – May 2, 2007

With the start of gobbler season this week, we’re issuing a spring issue of the N.H. Hunting Report to bring you up to date on hunting news from N.H. Fish and Game.

BUY the hunting license and permits you need at http://www.HuntNH.com or from Fish and Game offices and license agents statewide.

IN THIS ISSUE:
* Turkey Season Is Here!
* Youth Enjoy their Turkey Weekend
* 2006 Harvest Summary Available
* Moose Hunt Lottery Closes this Month – Get your Application Now!
* Create Some Turkey Habitat

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TURKEY SEASON IS HERE!

The state’s spring gobbler season runs May 3 through May 31. Last year, New Hampshire hunters took 3,559 turkeys during the spring season and youth weekend, a 17% increase over the 2005 harvest and a new state record. New Hampshire Fish and Game wildlife biologist and turkey project leader Ted Walski predicts the spring 2007 harvest could be as good or better than last year. (For more of Ted’s outlook, visit http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Newsroom/News_2007/News_2007_Q2/Turkey_Hunt_040907.htm.)

A N.H. hunting license and $6 turkey permit are required for all hunters age 16 years and older. Youth hunters must have a $6 turkey permit, but don’t need a hunting license. Hunters under age 16 always must be accompanied by a properly licensed adult 18 or older. For online license and permit sales, visit http://www.HuntNH.com.

For current turkey hunting regulations and a list of registration stations, visit http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Hunting/Hunt_species/hunt_turkey.htm.

New Hampshire has a wild turkey population of about 33,000 birds. A total of 19,627 turkey permits were purchased last year (excluding 824 fall shotgun permits). Turkey numbers continue to show annual growth in northern and eastern areas of the state.

Have fun and be safe while turkey hunting: Always positively identify your target. Never assume that calls and movement indicate the presence of a turkey. Never stalk a turkey – instead, scout out a good spot, call and wait for the turkeys to come to you. Always wear blaze orange and tie blaze-orange survey tape around a decoy/calling location. Do NOT wear red, white and blue and black, the colors of the male turkey.

YOUTH ENJOY THEIR TURKEY HUNT WEEKEND

The 2007 youth turkey hunt took place on April 28 – 29. Anecdotal reports suggest that that many gobblers were still “henned-up.” This, coupled with less than ideal weather, may have limited the overall harvest, though numbers haven’t been tallied yet. What we know for sure is that the youth turkey season has become extremely popular and is an excellent way to introduce young people to our amazing spring woodlands and our proud hunting heritage. The youth turkey weekend has been offered in New Hampshire since 2004.

Jeffrey Ames took his son Jason out on the youth weekend, and Jason shot his first turkey (21 lbs., with a 9-inch beard), after a very exciting hunt. Ames wrote, “To me, a very proud dad, and my son, it was a great, exciting day and one that he and I will never forget. We look forward to other hunts and seasons. It is nice that Fish and Game can help make great memories.”

2006 WILDLIFE HARVEST SUMMARY AVAILABLE

The stats are in for last year’s hunting season tallies, and you can check them out in the 2006 New Hampshire Wildlife Harvest Summary. You’ll find 2006 hunting season statistics for deer, bear, moose and turkey (plus trapping data for furbearers), often with breakdowns by town or Wildlife Management Unit.

The 2006 New Hampshire Wildlife Harvest Summary is available on the Fish and Game website at www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Hunting/hunting.htm (click on the green publication cover in the right-hand column). Printed copies can be picked up at Fish and Game headquarters in Concord, or through your local regional office.

The report confirms that New Hampshire’s 2006 harvest of 11,766 deer was the fourth highest on record – a total only exceeded in 1967 (14,202), 1968 (12,771) and in 1997 (11,800). The 2006 deer kill was an 11% increase from 2005, and represents approximately 14% of the pre-hunt deer population.

N.H. MOOSE HUNT LOTTERY CLOSES THIS MONTH — GET YOUR APPLICATION NOW!

Don’t forget — the deadline for applying for the 2007 New Hampshire moose hunt lottery is May 25, so get yours in. For a second year in a row, 675 permits are being offered statewide. Enter the lottery online at http://www.HuntNH.com, or pick up an application from any Fish and Game license agent. There is a nonrefundable $10 application fee.

Improve your chances by applying every year. Under a bonus point system in place since 2004, applicants’ names are entered into the lottery one time for each consecutive year they apply, but are unsuccessful. If you skip a year, you lose all your accumulated points.

Lottery applications for 2007 must be postmarked or submitted online by midnight Eastern Time, May 25, or delivered to N.H. Fish and Game headquarters in Concord before 4:00 p.m. that day. Winners will be selected through a computerized random drawing on June 22.

CREATE SOME TURKEY HABITAT

When you’re working on your yard or land this spring, encourage our turkey population by preserving their habitat. Good turkey habitat includes mature mast-producing hardwoods (mostly oaks), smaller hardwoods and a mixture of understory plants like grapes and berries. Manage hardwood forests for maximum acorn production; other mast producers like beech, birch and ash are also important seed producers relied on by turkeys, especially in years of low acorn yield. Turkeys need mature timber for roosting year-round. The edges of woods, brushy areas, farmlands, cutovers and old fields offer important nesting cover and feeding areas and escape cover for broods.

Good turkey habitat also includes small openings that produce insects, seeds and berries, as well as larger open areas like agricultural fields, pastures and roadsides. Maintain existing openings and create more — these can be planted with supplemental foods for turkeys (consult with UNH Cooperative Extension at http://www.extension.unh.edu for details). Help reduce impacts on turkey nests and incubating hens by delaying field mowing until after July 1.

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The New Hampshire Hunting Report is published monthly during the fall season and occasionally the rest of the year. Know someone who would enjoy this free e-newsletter? Have them sign up at 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.HuntNH.com.

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A USER-PAY, USER BENEFIT PROGRAM
Researching, 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.