Current through Register No. 40, October 3, 2024
(a) The purpose of this rule is to permit New
Hampshire municipalities to identify areas where deer densities are too high
for the existing habitat conditions. In such areas, aggressive efforts may be
necessary to reduce the deer population through the regulated use of
recreational hunters. The deer management assistance program (DMAP) approves
the issuance of special hunting permits to any New Hampshire municipality which
has identified a special deer management area within their jurisdiction meeting
the eligibility criteria established herein.
(b) A New Hampshire municipality may apply in
writing on its own letterhead to the department for participation in the DMAP
by providing the following:
(1) A request on
municipal letterhead, submitted to the NH Fish and Game Department, Wildlife
Division, 11 Hazen Drive, Concord, NH 03301, signed by a majority of the
governing body;
(2) A map
designating the area shall be included in the proposed special deer management
area, showing:
a. The tax map and lot numbers
and the names of landowners of the affected parcels;
b. Parcels which shall in aggregate total at
least 640 acres, provided that:
1. The parcels
need not be contiguous;
2.
Non-contiguous parcels shall be a minimum of 1 acre in size; and
3. Parcels may be publicly or privately
owned;
(3)
Documentation signed by each affected landowner verifying that the property is
open for deer hunting upon such conditions and limitations as the landowner may
impose;
(4) Designation of a
municipal employee of the requestor to perform the following tasks:
a. Serve as the contact for all communication
with the department;
b. Issue DMAP
permits to licensed hunters on behalf of the municipality; and
c. Provide all information and reporting as
required by the department; and
(5) A deer management plan covering the
proposed special deer management area that is specifically designed for the
area, which shall include:
a. Documentation of
negative impacts claimed to be due to overabundant deer;
b. Identification of parcels where deer
inflicted damage to plant communities has occurred;
c. Identification of parcels of forested land
where forest regeneration has been significantly impacted by deer;
d. A listing of specific deer management
goals and objectives;
e. An
explanation of why the stated objectives cannot be met by hunters using the
Department's existing deer season framework, or other special permits available
under these rules; and
f. A
description of other actions the town has taken or is planning to take to meet
the identified objectives.
(c) The request shall be received by the
department by 4:00 pm on the first Monday in July or be postmarked by midnight
of the first Monday in July of the year of request. Requests not meeting the
posted deadline shall be returned.
(d) The department shall, within ten days of
receipt, review each request for completeness. In the event that information is
missing or incomplete, contact shall be made with the requestor, who shall have
an additional period of ten days to provide the missing information.
(e) There shall be no fee to submit a
request, for review of the request, or for the provision of DMAP permits and
tags.
(f) On or before the fourth
Friday in August in the request year, the department shall approve the request
to create a special deer management area and issue DMAP permits, unless the
department finds that:
(1) The identified
problem could be resolved using existing deer hunting opportunities;
(2) The identified problem could be resolved
by the issuance of a different special permit available under these rules;
or
(3) The identified problem
cannot be effectively abated by the issuance of DMAP permits.
(g) Upon approval of a request,
the municipality shall be issued the number of DMAP permits and tags found
necessary to meet the objectives of the deer management plan, which shall be
conditioned as follows:
(1) Deer may be taken
during the archery season as specified in
Fis
301.03(d), the muzzleloader season as
specified in Fis 301.03(e),
and during the regular season as specified in
Fis
301.03(f), unless further restricted
by the approved deer management plan, and shall comply with all other rules in
Fis
301.03; and
(2) Baiting for deer shall be allowed without
a permit to bait wildlife as required by
Fis
1102.04, provided that the DMAP permit shall restrict
baiting as follows:
a. Baiting shall take
place within the special deer management area and only on parcels where the
landowner has authorized the use of bait as specified in subparagraph (b)(3)
above;
b. The baiting season shall
be as set forth in the deer management plan, provided that it shall not begin
prior to September 15 nor extend beyond December 15 of the permit
year;
c. The permittee shall comply
with all other applicable rules in
Fis
307.01,
Fis
307.03, and
Fis
307.05; and
d. The permittee shall comply with any
limitations imposed upon specific parcels by individual landowners.
(h) The approved
municipality shall issue a "DMAP Permit" only upon the following conditions:
(1) Each permit shall be valid only in the
special deer management area noted on the permit between the dates of September
15 and December 15 of the year issued, or any lesser period between such dates
that the municipality defines in the deer management plan;
(2) No person shall be issued a "DMAP Permit"
unless they present written landowner permission for any privately owned parcel
identified as part of the special deer management area in paragraph (b)(3)
above;
(3) No person shall be
issued a "DMAP Permit" unless they present evidence of one or more currently
valid hunting licenses, including:
a. An
archery license under
RSA
208:5 to take deer during the archery season,
as specified in Fis
301.03(d);
b. A muzzleloader license under
RSA
208:5-a and a regular hunting
license under RSA
214:9 to take deer during the muzzleloader
season, as specified in
Fis
301.03(e);
c. A license under
RSA
214:9 to take deer during the regular hunting
season, as specified in
Fis
301.03(f); or
d. Any person under the age of 16 or any
person over 68 who has a license pursuant to
RSA
214:7-a;
(4) Each permit shall be issued with 2 tags,
allowing the taking of 2 antlerless deer as defined in
Fis
301.01(c), which shall be in addition
to the taking of deer authorized by
Fis
301.03(d),
Fis
301.03(e),
Fis
301.03(f),
Fis
301.031(a)
-(c), and
Fis
301.032;
(5) Each issued "DMAP Permit" shall be
completed with the following information:
a.
The name of the municipal issuing agent;
b. The hunter's name and address;
c. The hunter's current license
number(s);
d. The hunter's date of
birth;
e. The date and time the tag
was issued;
f. The tax map
identification numbers of those parcels where the hunter is authorized to
hunt;
g. Any other restrictions
imposed by the deer management plan or individual participating landowners on
the hunting activities of the permittee, including:
1. The authorized weapons or method(s) of
take;
2. The dates or times during
which hunting may occur;
3.
Landowner authorization to place bait and, if allowed, the dates during which
baiting may occur; and
4. The tax
map identification numbers of those parcels to which any of these restrictions
apply;
(6)
The municipal issuing agent and the hunter shall note the date and time and
shall sign the DMAP permit document, subject to the penalties for making
unsworn false statements under
RSA
641:3;
(7) No more than one DMAP permit may be
issued to an individual hunter per year per municipality participating in DMAP;
and
(8) No DMAP permit or an
associated tag may be sold, bartered, used, or transferred to any other person;
and
(9) The approved municipal
applicant shall not charge a fee to issue a DMAP permit or an associated
tag.
(i) Immediately
upon killing a deer in the special deer management area, the permittee shall
provide the following information on the "DMAP Tag" and attach the tag to the
deer:
(1) The permittee's name and
address;
(2) The date and time of
kill;
(3) The WMU and town in which
the kill occurred; and
(4) The
hunter's signature, subject to the penalties for making unsworn false
statements under RSA
641:3.
(j) Deer taken under a DMAP permit shall be
registered as specified in
RSA
208:15-d and shall comply with the
requirements of RSA
208:16.
(k) Each municipality that issues DMAP
permits and tags shall:
(1) Retain a copy of
all DMAP permits issued for a period of 3 years;
(2) Submit a copy of any issued DMAP
permit(s) to the department headquarters each Friday from September 1 through
December 15, by mail or email, at the addresses below:
a. By mail to: New Hampshire Fish and Game
Department, Wildlife Division, 11 Hazen Drive, Concord, NH 03301; or
b. By email to: wildlife@wildlife.nh.gov,
with the subject line DMAP Permits; and
(3) Submit to the department an annual report
by December 31 of the year the DMAP permits were provided which shall include a
listing of all participating hunters by name, date of birth, town of residence,
and hunting license number.
(l) Following a hearing, the department may
revoke or suspend a municipality's participation in DMAP for failure to comply
with any of the conditions of the DMAP program.
(m) Following a hearing, the department may
revoke or suspend any individual DMAP permit upon a finding that:
(1) The permit was obtained through
fraud;
(2) The permit was obtained
by a person not entitled to receive a DMAP permit under these rules;
(3) The permit holder failed to comply with
the conditions of the DMAP permit; or
(4) The permit holder violated the fish and
game laws of New Hampshire or the provisions of these rules.
