Deer are New Hampshires most popular game animal, with a total of nearly 100,000 deer found throughout the state. New Hampshire has a long archery season starting. TabeBodyMediumRed background ff8b61important Centerfire Firearm Seasons You may only hunt one of the elk seasons listed on this page. Make sure you. Find Arkansas hunting seasons, information on deer, turkey, elk, bear and special hunt dates. Make lifelong memories and dream trips come true this season. THE CHILKOOT TRAIL OUTPOST IS AN Alaskan Lodge in the heart of the pristine Dyea Valley. Located just 7 miles from Skagway and a half mile from the head of the famous. Baitcasting reels are more durable than spinning and spincast reels and provide more fishcranking power. The best for flatheads hold at least 200 yards of the line. Arkansas Game Fish Elk Permit' title='Arkansas Game Fish Elk Permit' />Weight Loss New Hampshire Bariatric Weight Loss Coach Georgia Virginia Weight Loss Fredericksburg Va physicians. St Francis Weight Loss. New England Bear Hunting Forecast 2. The combination of longer seasons and more bears means great New England bear hunting in 2. By Al Raychard. If you hunt bears in New England, or have any inkling of doing so anytime soon, youll be pleased to learn bear populations are doing extremely well. In fact, bear populations in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts have never been higher in modern times and every study conducted indicates numbers are increasing. Generally cooperative weather conditions during the season were one factor in new record harvests being reported in New Hampshire and Massachusetts and above average numbers in New Hampshire in 2. Last season was also preceded by dry summer weather, conditions that produced fewer natural foods for bears. That situation causes bears to travel more to find food, and a traveling bear is more likely to walk in front of a hunter. Of course, berries, acorns, beechnuts and other foods could be more abundant this fall, and that could make bears harder to find in Massachusetts and Vermont and not as predictable on bait stations in Maine and New Hampshire. But there is little doubt there are plenty of bears and opportunities out there. Nowadays in New England, even a tough year for hunting results in many successful hunts. Illustration by Allen Hansen. Just five years ago Maine was home to an estimated 3. Lower 4. 8. That number has now increased to about 3. Jennifer Vashon, a bear biologist with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. The bear population increase has led to an expansion of the range of bears in Maine. Bears are becoming more common in populated southern and coastal areas of the state where numbers have traditionally been lowest. Game managers are keenly aware of the increase in the bear population in these areas because bear complaint reports have been on the rise. On average the MDIFW receives some 5. We definitely would like to see more bears taken each year. Vashon said, We would need somewhere in the neighborhood of 3,5. Trending G F Stories. Mud Fim Motocross World Championship Game. In fact, the Maine bear harvest hasnt reached or surpassed the 4,0. On average, hunters have been taking around 3,0. To help boost harvest numbers, the department likes to remind hunters of the long general hunting season that starts this year Aug. Nov. 2. 5. There is also a youth day on Aug. Saturday before the general season opener. Maine residents can hunt bears during the November rifle deer season with just a big game hunting license they do not need a bear permit. Non residents must be in possession of a bear permit, which costs 4. Great-Elk-to-Hunt.jpg' alt='Arkansas Game Fish Elk Permit' title='Arkansas Game Fish Elk Permit' />In recent years bears have been killed in 2. Maine. Numbers range from just one or two in the southern and mid coast districts to a couple hundred in the far north and western mountains. In particular WMD 4 west of Baxter State Park, WMD 5 north of the park, WMD 6 in the northeast corner of the state, WMD 8 west of Moosehead Lake and WMD 1. Sherman east to the New Brunswick border are perennial top producers and should be at the top of the list this year. This prime part of the state includes some or parts of a number of counties Aroostook, Piscataquis, Penobscot Somerset, Washington, Hancock, Oxford and Franklin. Although the western towns bordering New Hampshire produce far fewer bears by comparison, hunters here have been killing more bears than usual in recent years, something local October archery deer and November gun deer hunters might want to keep in mind. For more information on bear hunting in Maine visit www. The bear population in the Granite State has shown moderate increases in recent years and now numbers over 6,0. To help bring numbers closer to management goals, the hunting season was extended in the White Mountain, Central, Southwest 2 and Southeast wildlife management units last year and the 2. Hunters should check the current hunting and trapping digest for exact opening dates, keeping in mind that closing dates vary by season and unit. Hunters should also check for new regulations pertaining to taking bears with non resident dog packs, new dates after which dogs cannot be run from bait areas, and rules that clarify the use of bear guide tags. According to Andrew Timmins, Bear Project Leader for the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, 8. As is traditionally the case, most bears were taken during the baiting season. Still hunters came in second in most units followed by hunters using hounds. High harvest years also occurred in 2. Mother Nature cooperates. With that said, given the current bear densities and extended season dates in four of six management units and that, as Timmins put it, Bears are abundant and at or above desired population goals in most areas of the state, 2. This is especially true in the three northernmost management units that provide the best habitat and where bear densities are among the highest in the state. Hunters will also find plenty of public land. The Connecticut Lake Headwaters Project Lands cover 1. Pittsburg, Clarksville and Stewartstown. For information on gate and road opening status hunters should visit the NH State Parks web site at www. Pittsburg by dialing 1 6. The Nash Stream Forest in Stratford and Odell is also good bear territory, as is the White Mountain National Forest from Stark south to Randolph. In the central region, the larger wildlife management areas and state forests including the Enfield WMA and Ellis Hatch WMA. But hunters should also check out public lands in the Southwest 1 Region that produced 8. Southwest 2 Region that had a record harvest. Hunters should find plenty of opportunity in the Croydon Mountain area north of Claremont, and in the Newport, Gile and Mount Kearsarge state forests to name but a few. Leotard Designer Game here. For more information on public lands and bear hunting in New Hampshire visit www. Vermonts 2. 01. 0 2. Big Game Management Plan calls for a bear population objective of between 4,5. The upper reaches of that goal had been reached a few years ago. To help bring numbers down, an early bear season was put in place starting in 2. That year hunters killed 5. Thats a 3. 3 percent increase over the 1. The early season is helping us meet our management goal, says Forrest Hammond, Bear Project Leader with Vermonts Fish and Wildlife Department. The interesting thing is prior to last year hunters took nearly equal numbers of bears in the early and late seasons. But in 2. 01. 6 a majority of the bears 5. November deer season and when more hunters are in the woods. Its not certain whether this trend will continue or whether it is a factor that might vary year to year depending on weather and available mast. One thing is certain, however Since its inception the early season has been popular. Between 2. 01. 3 and 2. To hunt the early bear season, you need an Early Season Bear License in addition to the hunting license. The cost for residents is 5 1. As always, Vermonts big game hunting license comes with a bear tag that may be used in the late season. A new regulation starting this year makes it mandatory for all successful bear hunters to submit a premolar tooth at the time of registration. For more information check the 2. This year the early season will open Sept. Nov. 1. 0. The late season opens the very next day, Nov. Nov. 1. 9. According to biologist Hammond, bears are well distributed throughout much of Vermont, so prime hunting opportunities are apt to be available everywhere.