CONCORD, N.H. -- The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department will hold a public hearing on proposed rules to establish a bobcat hunting and trapping season in New Hampshire on Monday, February 1, at 6 p.m. at Representatives Hall in the N.H. State House in Concord.
The Fish and Game Commission is proposing to issue a total of 50 bobcat permits through a lottery process. The timing and attributes of the draft season would be similar to New Hampshire’s fisher season, with December trapping and January hunting. If adopted, the proposal would take effect in December 2016.
New Hampshire estimates about 1,500 bobcats reside in the State
All of New Hampshire’s neighboring states and provinces – Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts and Quebec – have bobcat seasons, although none limit their take using a permit system as proposed by Fish and Game.
Following a multi-year collaborative bobcat research study carried out by Fish and Game with the University of New Hampshire, the NH Fish and Game Commission directed the Department to assess whether New Hampshire’s bobcat population could sustain harvest without adverse impact to the population. The Department concluded that the population could sustain modest harvest while still accommodating slow growth. The Commission subsequently asked the Department to formulate a conservative season proposal consistent with those findings. A draft framework was presented to the Commission in April and a final proposal was adopted by the Commission in December of 2015. For more information on New Hampshire’s bobcat research and other related findings, visit www.wildnh.com/wildlife/profiles/bobcat.html#research.
No comments:
Post a Comment