Moose lottery draws a big crowd in New Hampshire

Updated: 06/27/2010 06:35:53 AM EDT

News from New Hampshire is all about the big drawing held this week for the moose hunt this fall.

Some 395 people have been offered permits to hunt moose in New Hampshire this October. The names of the winners are posted on N.H. Fish and Game's website at www.huntnh.com. Hunters whose names were selected in the drawing will be notified by mail.

Winners were randomly selected by computer from a pool of more than 14,000 applicants. They will be offered permits to hunt moose during the October 16-24 season. Each winner is allowed to enlist a guide and one friend or relative to help on the hunt as a "sub-permittee."

It's the 16th year entering the New Hampshire moose hunt lottery and the first win for Robert Rioux of Nashua, who says he's been hunting "since he was born." He and wife Carol were there to hear his name read for a permit.

Winners hailed from throughout New Hampshire, as well as Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, Pennsylvania, New York, Wisconsin, Michigan, New Jersey, Illinois, Colorado, Virginia, Mississippi, Ohio and Florida

Thanks to 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 395 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.

The resulting sustainable annual harvest of moose helps to regulate moose numbers and provides a unique recreational opportunity.

In 2009, New Hampshire hunters took 341 moose, for a statewide success rate of 65 percent.

Several local people were drawn for a permit: Jim Bagni of Billerica, Vincent Balboni of Billerica, Henry Finch of Winchendon, Keith Lambert of Nashua, Herbert Capron of Boxford, Armand Caron of Chelmsford and Jean-Claude Poulin of Nashua.

Northeast and Central District staff of Mass Wildlife are looking for territorial loon pairs on Massachusetts lakes and ponds. In addition to Quabbin and Wachusett Reservoirs, loons are known to use at least eight other bodies of water in Worcester County for nesting. Reports of loons observed during the months of May and June should be made to District Wildlife Biologist Bridgett McAlice.

Loons have recently been observed on Heywood Reservoir in Sterling and Leominster, which is owned by the Town of Clinton and part of their Wekepeke watershed over which MassWildlife holds a Conservation Restriction. Also noted were loons in Baddacook and Long Lake in Littleton.

Massachusetts anglers are reminded that lead restrictions on fishing gear will be adopted statewide beginning in 2012. No longer will you be allowed to have lead split shot or any other form of sinker made of lead on your line. The reason is the fear of waterfowl and others species swallowing the lead and dying from lead poison.. Lead shot has been banned for waterfowl hunters for some 20 years now. This new law is long overdue...

There is no hard and fast numbers yet for the turkey kill for this past spring but I am hearing through the grapevine the hunt was very good and the harvest could be about 3,000 for the first time. These will of course be all bearded males. A second season will happen in the fall when one bird of either sex is allowed as long as you have a permit.

If you missed the Friday FishFinder let me just give you a bit of news: the striped bass action is fabulous, the flounder fishing is unbelievable, cod and pollock for both bait and eating is great, haddock are filling coolers, whales are on the prowl, bluefish have made their presence known and New Hampshire and Maine are doing very well catching some great fish. Now if you had read the paper on Friday you would know where the fish are!