Hunter Access Seminar Offered to VT Landowners

The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department is holding a free seminar for landowners interested in learning more about hunting, wildlife management, and conservation. The seminar is co-hosted by the nonprofit Vermont Coverts.

http://www.backwoodssportsman.com/state-news-1.html

Volunteers Needed for Winter Cottontail Rabbit Surveys

This winter, wildlife biologists need help from citizen science volunteers to conduct surveys for Eastern cottontail rabbits in southern New Hampshire. On February 18, 2017, from 9:00 a.m. to noon in Newington, UNH Cooperative Extension and New Hampshire Fish and Game will train volunteers to collect pellets from Eastern cottontail rabbits, a known threat to the state-endangered New England cottontail. Winter is the best time to survey for cottontail rabbits, because they leave telltale signs (pellets) in the snow, making it possible to locate and sample for different species.

http://www.backwoodssportsman.com/state-news-1.html

Free Snowmobile Weekends Slated for Winter 2017

Maine and New Brunswick Free Trail Weekend: From January 20-22, 2017, snowmobilers from Maine can obtain a FREE 3-Day Trail Permit to ride in New Brunswick. The special free permit must be obtained online by visiting www.nbfsc.com. All snowmobiles and snowmobilers on NBFSC trails will still be required to carry personal PLPD insurance ($200,000.00 minimum) and have a current 2017 snowmobile registration from Maine

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Vermont Turkey Hunters Had a Successful 2016

Vermont wild turkey hunters had successful spring and fall hunting seasons in 2016 according to the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department. 

http://www.backwoodssportsman.com/state-news-1.html

Wild Game Cooking Class This Month

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) will offer a wild game cooking class with Chef Andy Lussier of Culinary Connections and Addieville East Farm this month.

http://www.backwoodssportsman.com/state-news-1.html

First-ever Winter Free Fishing Day in NH

If you’ve always wanted to try ice fishing, take advantage of New Hampshire’s first-ever winter free fishing day on Saturday, January 21, 2017. That’s a day you can fish without a license in New Hampshire. Note that all other regulations must be followed; learn more about fishing rules by reading the NH Freshwater Fishing Digest at www.fishnh.com/fishing/publications.html.  Persons participating in a fishing tournament must still hold a license, even on free fishing day.

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FW Adds An Additional 73 Moose Calves To Moose Survival Study

IFW Adds An Additional 73 Moose Calves To Moose Survival Study AUGUSTA, Maine -- Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife biologists just finished a week of capturing and collaring moose in two different geographic study areas in northern Maine as part of the department’s ongoing moose study. The study provides a greater understanding of the health of Maine’s moose population, particularly factors that affect their survival and reproductive rates.

http://www.backwoodssportsman.com/state-news-1.html

DEEP Re-opens Trails at Sessions Woods WMA

Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) announced that trails at Sessions Woods Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Burlington will re-open today, Thursday, January 12, after being closed since October for a forestry operation on an eight-acre area. All nearby trails were closed during the forestry operation for public safety. The operation involved the removal of red pines that were dying due to insect infestations, as well as other potential hazard trees, due to the proximity of public trails. 

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11th Annual No Child Left Inside® Winter Festival

Grab your winter gear, bundle up your children and join us for the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s (DEEP) No Child Left Inside® 11th annual FREE Winter Festival at Burr Pond State Park, 384 Burr Mountain Road, Torrington.  A full range of fun, outdoor winter activities for the entire family will be happening on Saturday, February 4, 2017, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

http://www.backwoodssportsman.com/state-news-1.html

VT Bear Hunters Had a Successful Season in 2016

The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department reports that bear hunters in Vermont had a safe and successful hunting season in 2016. Preliminary numbers show that hunters took 697 black bears during the 81days of the two-part early and late bear seasons. There also were no hunting-related shooting incidents. 

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VT Fish & Wildlife at the Yankee Show, Jan. 20-22

The annual Yankee Sportsman’s Classic show will be held January 20, 21 and 22 at the Champlain Valley Expo in Essex Junction, and the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department is inviting you to visit their exhibits and attend their seminars at the show. 

http://www.backwoodssportsman.com/state-news-1.html

Ice Fishing Vermont January 8 2017

This past weekend, we started off our ice fishing tournament series with the Champlain Valley Hardwater Series in Vermont. This is our second season and after last season, we were very excited at getting back up there and seeing and fishing with so many friends.

This series is growing with each tournament and is becoming a very popular event with a number of different states being represented. Everyone is super friendly and always willing to lend a helping hand and make you f...eel welcome to being a part of this community.

http://www.backwoodssportsman.com/reports-1.html

Educators: Schedule a Free Spring Classroom Wildlife Program

Teachers who want to introduce their students in grades 3-6 to New Hampshire's wildlife resources -- or reinforce wildlife-related lessons they have learned -- have until February 28 to request spring Wonders of Wildlife presentations by trained New Hampshire Fish and Game Department volunteer docents. There is no charge for the programs.

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Women Can Gain Skills for Outdoor Fun at NH BOW Winter Workshop

Registration is now open for New Hampshire’s 2017 Becoming an Outdoors-Woman (BOW) Winter Workshop, a one-day program where women learn outdoor skills to enjoy during the winter months.

http://www.backwoodssportsman.com/state-news-1.html

Deer Hunting Season at Black Rock on Block Island opens next week

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) announces that deer hunting season at Black Rock/Rodman Hollow on Block Island will open on Tuesday, January 17 through Friday, February 10. 

http://www.backwoodssportsman.com/state-news-1.html

F&W Informs Anglers of 2017 Fishing Digest Errors

The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department is reaching out to both resident and non-resident anglers to provide clarification on four errors published in the 2017 Vermont Fishing Guide & Regulations digest recently put on shelves at license agents statewide. 

http://www.backwoodssportsman.com/state-news-1.html

K-Drill Ice Auger System to Clam Outdoors Conversion Drill Plate

This past weekend, I was talking with a number of anglers on the ice about the combination of the K-Drill Auger and Clam Outdoors Conversion Drill Plate. The first thing that was noticed is the lightness of this combination, which doesn’t wear your arms out over the day.

Another question that was ask: “Can you mount the K-Drill directly to the Drill Plate?” and the short answer is no.

http://www.backwoodssportsman.com/reports-1.html

Gale Meadows WMA Expands by Nearly 200 Acres

The Gale Meadows Wildlife Management Area grew by nearly 200 acres when the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department bought forestland in Winhall and Jamaica and conserved it with the Vermont Land Trust. Now, with the added land, both wildlife and the public can enjoy over 900 acres of permanently conserved land. 

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IFW Biologists Track New England Cottontails In The Snow

Have you seen this rabbit? The New England cottontail is a State Endangered species in Maine, with an estimated population of less than 300. Each winter, biologists from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and our conservation partners conduct snow tracking surveys to monitor the sites known to have cottontails, and to search for new occurrences. So, if you’ve spotted a cottontail (see below for a comparison with the much more common snowshoe hare) please let us know so we can survey the site to confirm their presence. Knowing exactly where cottontails occur is critical to our efforts to restore the species, so we’d greatly appreciate any reports.

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Registration Opens for Beyond Becoming an Outdoors-Woman Winter Hiking Course

Learn how to prepare for the challenges of winter hiking!  Registration is now open for a new Beyond Becoming an Outdoors-Woman (BOW) workshop called, "Explore Winter Hiking."

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Vermont Hunters Had Successful 2016 Deer Seasons

The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department says preliminary numbers show 16,160 deer were taken during Vermont’s 2016 deer hunting seasons. 

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Chopper Overhead Signals Moose Collaring Underway in Northern NH

Northern New Hampshire residents may see a helicopter overhead in the coming weeks as approximately 45 moose cows and calves are collared for the third year of a four-year study of moose mortality and productivity.

http://www.backwoodssportsman.com/state-news-1.html

RIDE RESPONSIBLY - Snowmobile Safety Campaign

This snowmobile season, the Maine Warden Service and the Maine Snowmobile Association have teamed up once again to remind people to ride responsibly. Game Warden Corporal John MacDonald and MSA Executive Director Bob Meyers met with several media outlets this morning to discuss Maine’s busy snowmobiling season. Today’s press conference highlighted the need for snowmobile riders to work together and reduce crashes. Driving under the influence, speeding, operating in adverse weather conditions, and operating on unfamiliar water bodies are common contributing factors with snowmobile incidents here in Maine. 

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Kids Chasing Bass December 28 2016

When my son and I fish, he has a way that he likes to fish and I have a way that I like to fish. So, having two different varieties of techniques, he likes fishing with traps and I like jigging, there are a couple of lakes that we fish that don’t adhere as easily to both methods.

We typically will alternate our choices of lakes and since our last outing was for jigging crappies, his choice was to run traps for bass. This particular lake has a good population of largemouth and smallmouth bass and also jumbo perch, but the sunfish are small and there isn’t any crappies in the lake.

http://www.backwoodssportsman.com/reports-1.html

A Look at 2016 Fisheries Habitat Work in New Hampshire

2016 was a busy year for fish habitat restorations in New Hampshire. The goal of the NH Fish and Game Department's Fish Habitat Program is to protect, restore, and enhance New Hampshire's fisheries habitats, using a watershed approach, so that viable fish communities can be supported for their intrinsic value and long-term benefits to the public. Fish and Game works in partnership with other state and federal natural resource agencies, regional planning commissions, town governments, non-government organizations, and landowners to accomplish this goal.

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First Ice December 26 2016

First ice is always a special time and all of the excitement has finally come to a realization that we are going to be wetting a line on the hard water once again. Ice season is a very special time and I get to spend many days out there with my fishing partner, my son.

We typically have to drive north for first ice and have a few lakes that we will target at first and last ice and there is a good population of crappie that swim there.

http://www.backwoodssportsman.com/reports-1.html

Snowshoe Hare Hunting Workshop - January 28 in Holderness

Learn about the exciting sport of snowshoe hare hunting at a free workshop being offered at the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s Owl Brook Hunter Education Center in Holderness, N.H. The workshop will take place from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 28, 2017. Space is limited and pre-registration is required.

http://www.backwoodssportsman.com/state-news-1.html

Conditional Shellfishing Area "Conimicut Triangle" Reopens

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) announced today the Conimicut Triangle in Upper Narragansett Bay will reopen to shellfish harvesting at sunrise tomorrow, Friday December 23. The opening comes more than two days earlier than expected.



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Trout Stocking Wraps Up Next Week for the Winter Season

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) announced today it will complete its winter season trout stocking next week. Some 1,200 rainbow and brook trout will be released into Olney Pond, Lincoln Woods State Park in Lincoln; Upper Mellville Pond, Portsmouth; Carbuncle Pond, Coventry; Breakheart Pond, Arcadia Management Area in Exeter; and the Roundtop Ponds in Burrillville.

http://www.backwoodssportsman.com/state-news-1.html

Recreational Fishing Changes for 2017

New Hampshire anglers should be aware of several new rules in effect for 2017.

http://www.backwoodssportsman.com/state-news-1.html

IFW Ice Fishing Report For December 22, 2016

The early season cold has made for some excellent early season ice fishing opportunities in the southern part of the state.

http://www.backwoodssportsman.com/state-news-1.html

2016 New Hampshire Turkey Virus Monitoring Update

This was the fifth year biologists were recording evidence of avian pox virus and Lymphoproliferative disease virus (LPDV) in turkeys.  While turkeys are still being affected throughout the state, numbers with the debilitating clinical lesions in the head/eye area appear minimal.

http://www.backwoodssportsman.com/state-news-1.html

NH Hunting Report - December 21, 2016

The unofficial deer kill for New Hampshire’s 2016 hunting season was 10,702, down slightly (2%) from the 2015 final kill of 10,895. Based on this estimate, the 2016 total represents the 7th highest kill in the last 9 years and is very similar to the 20-year average of 10,912.  Deer hunting seasons are now closed in the state.

http://www.backwoodssportsman.com/state-news-1.html

Report your Winter Wild Turkey Sightings January 1 - March 31

Wild turkeys will soon be gathering at backyard birdfeeders, and the NH Fish and Game Department is asking the public to report sightings of wild turkeys online at www.wildnh.com/surveys/turkey.html starting January 1. Please do not report multiple sightings of the same flock. The state’s Wild Turkey Winter Flock Survey runs through March 31.

http://www.backwoodssportsman.com/state-news-1.html

VT F&W Offers Ice Safety Tips

The recent arrival of cold temperature has formed early-season ice on Vermont ponds, lakes and rivers. The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department reminds winter enthusiasts that ice should never be considered safe and ice conditions vary.

http://www.backwoodssportsman.com/state-news-1.html

2017 New Hampshire Fishing and Hunting Licenses Available

New Hampshire fishing and hunting licenses for 2017 are now available. Purchase yours today and get set for a WILD year of outdoor adventure, from ice fishing this winter to bagging your deer next fall. Licenses are good for the calendar year, from January 1 through December 31, 2017. Purchase online at www.nhfishandgame.com, at the N.H. Fish and Game Department in Concord, or from a Fish and Game license agents across the state.

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Snow Provides Wildlife Tracking Opportunities

The bountiful snowfall in Vermont’s woods and field this December provides ample opportunities to head outdoors looking for signs of wildlife. Snowshoers, skiers and other winter adventurers are encouraged to keep an eye to the snow for tracks this time of year.

http://www.backwoodssportsman.com/state-news-1.html

Newest Poster Benefits Maine’s Endangered And Threatened Species

The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s newest poster features Maine’s 51 endangered and threatened fish and wildlife, and proceeds from the sale go directly to help these species.

http://www.backwoodssportsman.com/state-news-1.html

Register in January for "Becoming an Outdoors-Woman" Winter Workshop

Registration will open January 9 for New Hampshire’s 2017 Becoming an Outdoors-Woman (BOW) Winter Workshop, a one-day program where women learn outdoor skills to enjoy during the winter months.

http://www.backwoodssportsman.com/state-news-1.html

Stocking Season Nearly Completed!

Stocking season is nearly complete! With snow on the ground, and ice skimming over many ponds and lake, some might say not a moment too soon.

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Tune up your Ice Fishing at these Free Talks in January

Improve your ice fishing skills by taking advantage of two free ice fishing seminars presented this January at the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, 11 Hazen Drive in Concord. No pre-registration is necessary. Talks begin at 7:00 p.m. See you there!

http://www.backwoodssportsman.com/state-news-1.html

Bird Feeding Basics

With winter weather now taking hold, Vermonters are readying their bird feeders. But before residents put up their avian offerings, Vermont Fish & Wildlife recommends a review of the bird feeding basics.

VT Outdoor News at Kevin Dahlke's BWS Outdoors

Fairfield Man Cited for Deer Poaching

Vermont state game wardens arrested Nicholas Robert, 29, of Fairfield, Vermont on December 6 and charged him with four counts of taking deer during closed season and hunting deer with bait.

VT Outdoor News at Kevin Dahlke's BWS Outdoors

DEM Stocks Ponds with Trout Just in Time for Winter Fishing Season

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) has begun stocking local waters with trout for the winter fishing season. Some 2,000 brook trout have been added to four ponds: Barber Pond, South Kingstown; Silver Spring Pond, North Kingstown; and Meadowbrook and Wyoming Ponds, in Richmond. Later this month, additional locations will be announced.

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Registration Opens for Free Winter Indoor Archery Programs

Are you interested in trying archery for the first time?  Or maybe keeping your archery skills in tune once archery season comes to an end? This winter, the N.H. Fish and Game Department is once again offering free archery programs for both beginners and experienced archers who want to learn new skills or improve their current skills. Both programs will be held at Fish and Game's Owl Brook Hunter Education Center, located at 387 Perch Pond Road in Holderness, N.H. Registration is now open.

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2017 Licenses Available Online Dec. 12

Vermont hunting, fishing and trapping licenses for 2017 will be available on the Fish & Wildlife Department’s website (www.vtfishandwildlife.com) on December 12.

http://www.backwoodssportsman.com/state-news-1.html

Reward For Information: Two Canada Lynx Found Dead

A reward of up to $5,500 is being offered in connection with the recent illegal killings of two Canada Lynx in Maine. The Maine Warden Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service investigators are seeking information regarding two separate Canada Lynx shootings in northern Oxford County and Aroostook County.

http://www.backwoodssportsman.com/state-news-1.html

Multiple New Hampshire Foxes Displaying Symptoms of Canine Distemper

Deceased gray foxes displaying symptoms of Canine Distemper have been reported recently in the Upper Connecticut River Valley and southern New Hampshire. The NH Fish and Game Department and the NH Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food advise the public to be aware of this situation and to be diligent about keeping pet vaccinations current.

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Changes to Permanent Hunting/Fishing Licenses Coming in 2017

The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department is reminding hunters and anglers of changes to permanent license laws that go into effect starting on January 1, 2017. A permanent hunting and fishing license is currently available to Vermont residents aged 65 and older for a one-time fee of $50. Starting January 1, the eligible age will be raised to 70 and the license will be free.

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NH Wildlife Officials Warn of Fishing and Hunting License Scam

The N.H. Fish and Game Department is warning consumers of a scam that fools people into paying for a fishing license without actually providing one.

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