New Hampshire has started the clock ticking on its annual moose-hunt lottery for the 29th time, although the number of hunting permits – just like the number of moose – is dwindling.
Only 51 permits are being issued this year, by far the lowest since moose hunting started up again in 1988, because the population of the state’s moose herd is falling due to parasites and disease.
For the first time, part of the state is off limits to hunters: No permits are being issue in the southwest corner, roughly equivalent to Cheshire and Hillsborough counties, because so few moose live there.
Applications for the lottery cost $15 for state residents and $25 for outsiders. They are available online at huntnh.com or from any Fish and Game license agent.
Applications must be postmarked or submitted online by midnight May 26, or delivered to N.H. Fish and Game headquarters in Concord before 4 p.m. that day.
New Hampshire’s nine-day moose hunt starts the third Saturday in October. This year’s hunt runs from Oct. 17 to Oct. 29.
