CONCORD, NH – The adventure of a lifetime is in store for 105 people – including four Manchester residents – who have been offered permits to hunt moose in New Hampshire this October. They are the lucky winners in the state’s 28th annual moose hunt lottery drawing, held today at New Hampshire Fish and Game Department headquarters in Concord, N.H.
Governor Maggie Hassan had the honor of pushing the button to start the computerized random selection and launching the traditional reading of names on the winners list. An enthusiastic audience filled the room, enjoying doughnuts, swapping backwoods stories, and listening hopefully for their name to be called as a participant in this year’s hunt.
One of the happiest people in the room was Nathanial Jones of Northfield, N.H., who leaped up with a whoop of joy when his name was called, the next to last of the day. This will be the first-ever moose hunt for Jones. “I’m very excited,” he said. “Can’t you tell?”
Winners were selected from a pool of more than 9,519 applicants. In addition, over 1,400 people submitted an application for a bonus point only, but are not included in the lottery. The bonus point system improves the chance of winning for each consecutive year entered and not selected. The overall odds of being drawn this year were 1 in 63 for state residents and 1 in 243 for nonresidents.
In addition to the four Manchester lottery winners, three of the alternates are also from Manchester. Click below for complete lists:
Winners will be offered permits to hunt moose in a specific Wildlife Management Unit during the 2015 N.H. moose season, which runs October 17–25. Each permit winner is assigned to one of 22 wildlife management units (WMUs) in which he or she can legally hunt. Winners are allowed to enlist a guide and one friend or relative to help on the hunt as a “subpermittee.” In addition to many New Hampshire residents, winners hailed from Massachusetts, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, Oklahoma and Florida. Nearly 85% of the winners were New Hampshire residents; this percentage is based on the resident/non-resident ratio of N.H. hunting licenses sold the previous year.
Last year (2014), New Hampshire hunters took 91 moose, for a statewide success rate of 72%. Regional success for moose hunters last year ranged from 81 percent in the Connecticut Lakes region to 40% in the southeastern part of the state.
Bonus: Interesting read on the winter tick problem, affecting NH’s moose herd:
Hunters whose names were selected in Friday’s drawing will be notified by mail.
Official limited-edition 2015 New Hampshire moose hunt shirts are available to the public and may be ordered online at http://www.shopwildnh.com.
For more information on hunting moose in New Hampshire, visit http://www.wildlife.state.nh.
A description of the lottery process and table of applicants and odds can be found at http://www.wildlife.state.nh.
New Hampshire has had an annual moose hunt since 1988, when 75 permits were issued for a three-day hunt in the North Country.. A six -year research project being conducted by Fish and Game, in cooperation with the University of New Hampshire, will provide additional information to aid in moose management efforts.
