Moose hunt begins Saturday [10/16/2004]

Twenty-seven county residents among 525 permitees

The 16th annual New Hampshire moose hunt starts at sunrise Saturday morning with 525 permit holders, up from 485 last year. The hunt runs through Sunday, Oct. 24.Twenty-seven Carroll County residents are among the lottery winners for moose permits: Blaine Rogerson Sr., of Bartlett; Mark Bryan, of Conway; Kevin Cote, of Effingham; Lucy Fauteux and George Nichols, of Freedom; Curt Burke Jr., of Intervale; Jo-Anne Poire, of Madison; Patricia Frasier, Kathleen McHenry, Paul Nelson, and Chris Shipp, of Moultonborough; Richard Morgan, Billy Morrison, and John Vittum, of Ossipee; Larry Davis, Ronald Jolin, Matthew Power, and James Randolph, of Tamworth; Kevin Grower and Thomas Young, of Wakefield; and Kevin Bernier, Mark Dewolf, Christopher Ginter, Paul Kimball, Donald McBride, Elisa Preston and James Sherman, all of Wolfeboro.Each permittee can enlist a friend or relative and a guide to help. A total of 15,505 people applied for moose permits this year, about two-thirds of them New Hampshire residents. The odds of winning were about 1 in 23 for residents and 1 in 59 for out-of-staters.With the recovery of moose populations, New Hampshire has had an annual moose hunt since 1988. That year, 75 permits were issued for a three-day hunt in the North Country.The availability of 525 hunting permits this year, with some issued for every area of the state during the nine-day season, has been made possible by careful management of moose populations and improved moose habitat. The resulting sustainable annual harvest of moose helps to regulate moose numbers and provides a unique recreational opportunity.Each permit winner is assigned to one of 22 wildlife management units in which he or she can legally hunt. Twenty antlerless-only moose permits were issued in northern New Hampshire, with the remaining 505 permits valid for taking any moose in management units across the state.In 2003, 362 moose were taken. The success rate for moose hunters last year ranged from 20 percent in southeastern New Hampshire to 92 percent up north, with an average of 75.1 percent across the state.Some hunters this week may see moose with radio-telemetry collars and ear tags. N.H. Fish and Game and University of New Hampshire fitted 24 moose (4 cows and 20 calves) with radio collars and ear tags this past winter in Wildlife Management Units B, C1 and C2. Research on these animals will help biologists determine the habitat use and causes and rates of mortality of North Country moose. Hunters may shoot these collared moose, but the collars and ear tags must be turned in when the hunter registers the moose. Hunters who encounter a collared moose are encouraged to record where and when it is seen, the sex of the moose, whether they believe it is a calf, yearling or adult, and if possible, the ear tag number. Sightings of these moose should be reported to 449-2094.After taking a moose, hunters must have the animals weighed and inspected at one of seven check stations around the state. There, wildlife biologists check each moose to glean information about the overall health of the moose herd. Many of these check stations draw crowds of onlookers, a reminder of the economic and symbolic importance of moose in New Hampshire, particularly in the North Country. The local tagging station for this area is Saco District Ranger Station in Conway.Hunters are reminded to restrict the amount of moose liver and kidney they eat, to avoid a higher-than-recommended daily intake of cadmium. Studies conducted by N.H. Fish and Game and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have revealed high levels of cadmium in some of the moose livers and kidneys sampled. As a result, N.H. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that no moose kidney be eaten, and, preferably, no liver. If individuals do choose to eat moose liver, it should be from moose younger than 1.5 years. If the moose is older than that, consumption should be limited to a maximum of six 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.License and permit fees paid by hunters support Fish and Game's wildlife research and management programs, including an important on-going study on moose mortality and habitat. Hunting activity also has a positive impact on the state's economy; according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, nearly 80,000 people hunted in New Hampshire in 2001, generating expenditures in the state of close to $60 million.Those interested in applying for next year's moose hunt can pick up applications in early spring wherever fishing and hunting licenses are sold, or on Fish and Game's website: www.wildlife.state.nh.us.