Current through Register No. 40, October 3, 2024
(a) A
person may bait wildlife in accordance with
RSA
207:3-d,
Fis
307.01,
Fis
307.02, and
Fis
307.03 on lands assigned to or managed by the
department, including:
(1) Property of the
fish and game department;
(2)
Property of the department of natural and cultural resources, division of state
parks and division of state forests;
(3) Property of the department of
transportation;
(4) Property of the
department of environmental services, division of water;
(5) Federal property such as the White
Mountain National Forest (WMNF); and
(6) Private property for which the fish and
game department has authorization to issue permits to bait wildlife only after
the applicant obtains permission in writing to do so from the fish and game
department.
(b) The
maximum number of active bait sites for private and commercial use on state
owned and managed lands and other lands combined shall be as described in
Fis
307.01(i), except:
(1) No person shall engage in the act of
baiting furbearing or game animals, with the exception of gray squirrel, at
more than 2 bait sites on state owned or managed lands within any individual
WMU;
(2) Licensed New Hampshire
hunting guides may be allowed up to 3 active bait sites for commercial use on
state owned or managed lands within any individual WMU; and
(3) No person, to include licensed New
Hampshire hunting guides, shall have more than one active bait site within an
individual trapping unit as described in
Fis
303.13(c).
(c) Each year, baiting permits shall be
awarded on state owned or state managed lands for which the department has
authority to award such permits on a first come-first served basis, by postmark
or hand delivered, except for the Connecticut Lakes Headwaters Forest (CLHF),
as provided by paragraph (k) below.
(d) Applicants for a baiting permit on state
owned and managed lands shall make application on a "Permit to Bait Wildlife"
form provided by the department as described in
Fis
1102.04.
(e) Permit applications to bait furbearing
animals or game animals, with the exception of gray squirrel, on state owned
and managed lands shall be accepted at any time, except:
(1) Applicants may apply beginning December 1
for permits to bait coyote for the year following to be effective from January
1 to December 31 of the year following;
(2) Permit applications for baiting bear and
deer shall not be considered unless received by the department or are
postmarked between the first Monday in June and the first Monday in August;
and
(3) Permits to bait bear shall
be issued by the executive director or designated agents after the application
deadlines in subparagraph (2) above as necessary to assist in addressing bear
conflict issues, to be effective on the date of issuance for the period set
forth in the permit, not to exceed 60 days.
(f) Applicants for award of baiting permits
on state owned or managed lands shall submit one copy of the application to
the:
N.H. Fish and Game Department
Law Enforcement Division
11 Hazen Drive
Concord, NH 03301
and shall include a topographic map or copy thereof showing
the specific location of said bait site.
(g) Permits awarded to bait wildlife on state
owned or managed lands shall become effective on the first day of legal baiting
of the year of issuance of the permit and shall be valid for the baiting season
in that calendar year except as provided by paragraphs (e)(1) and (e)(3)
above.
(h) In addition to the rules
specified in Fis 307.01, the following rules
for baiting wildlife on state owned or managed lands shall apply:
(1) Non-edible or non-digestible materials
shall not be used as bait;
(2)
Containers used to hold bait, such as barrels, plastic bags, pails, and boxes,
and any bait material shall be removed from the property by the end of the open
season for taking the species by the use of bait or upon expiration of the
permit, whichever occurs first;
(3)
No person shall erect, build, or use a tree stand or observation blind that
damages or destroys a tree by inserting into the tree any metallic, ceramic, or
other object used as part of a ladder or observation deck nor shall any person
cut any tree in connection with any of the activities regulated under this
section;
(4) All temporary blinds,
platforms, or other structures shall be removed from the property when the
permit expires;
(5) No baits shall
be placed within 300 feet of a dwelling, roadway, pathway, trail, or designated
campsites; and
(6) Permittees shall
comply with Fis
307.01(m).
(i) Failure to comply with these rules shall,
after notice and opportunity for a hearing in accordance with Fis 200, result
in permit revocation and no issuance of a permit for one year. Persons subject
to permit revocation may appeal said revocation by requesting, in writing to
the executive director, a hearing in accordance with Fis 200.
(j) A permit to bait wildlife on state owned
or managed lands shall be valid for a single permittee only and shall have only
that permittee's name entered on the permit.
(k) Up to 50 permits to bait bear and up to
20 permits to bait other species on the Connecticut Lakes Headwaters Forest
(CLHF) shall be awarded by lottery as follows:
(1) Baiting permits on the CLHF shall be
issued on the basis of 11 CLHF trapping units described in
Fis
303.13;
(2) A maximum of 7 bait sites, with no more
than 5 bear bait sites and 2 bait sites for all other species, shall be
permitted on any one trapping unit in the CLHF;
(3) No person shall be permitted more than
one bait site on the CLHF in a calendar year, except a licensed N.H. hunting
guide may be permitted up to 3 bait sites on the CLHF but shall not have more
than one bait site per trapping unit in a calendar year;
(4) Applicants for the CLHF baiting permit
lottery shall complete the "Lottery Application to Bait Wildlife on the
Connecticut Lakes Headwaters Forest (CLHF)" form supplied by the department by
providing the following information:
a. The
date of application;
b. Name of the
applicant;
c. Mailing address of
the applicant;
d. Date of birth of
the applicant;
e. Telephone number
of the applicant;
f. If a licensed
N.H. hunting guide, his or her current guide's license number and an indication
of whether or not they were issued bear guide tags for the current year as
described in Fis 1102.06;
g. A ranking of CLHF trapping unit
preferences; and
h. The species,
meaning bear, deer, or coyote, for which the applicant wishes to bait for in
each trapping unit;
(5)
Each lottery application for the CLHF lottery shall be for a single person or
licensed N.H. hunting guide and shall be non-transferable;
(6) No person shall submit more than one
application except licensed N.H. hunting guides may submit up to a maximum of 3
applications;
(7) Lottery
applications shall be submitted to the:
New Hampshire Fish and Game Department
Wildlife Division
11 Hazen Drive
Concord, N.H. 03301
(8) Lottery applications may be submitted
beginning the first Monday in April and shall be received at that location by
4:00 pm on the first Friday in May or postmarked no later than midnight on the
fourth Wednesday in April;
(9)
Illegible applications and incomplete applications shall be returned and not
considered, however, corrected applications may be resubmitted prior to the
deadlines specified in subparagraph (8) above;
(10) The lottery for permits to bait bear and
other species on the CLHF shall be held on or before the 12th day following the
close of the application period as specified in subparagraph (8) above and be
based on random computer selection of applications at the fish and game
headquarters office in Concord;
(11) Based on the order of selection,
applicants shall be offered a baiting permit(s) as follows:
a. Applicants shall be offered a baiting
permit(s) for bear or other species for the highest ranked trapping unit(s)
indicated on their application(s) that have not been previously
filled;
b. Selection of applicants
shall continue until all species-specific baiting opportunities in all trapping
units have been filled or no more eligible applicants are available;
c. Successful applicants shall be notified by
mail within 7 working days of the trapping unit and species baiting
opportunities awarded them;
d.
Successful CLHF lottery applicants shall complete and submit an application for
a permit to bait wildlife on state owned and managed lands in accordance with
paragraphs (d), (e), and (f) above for each trapping unit and species
opportunity awarded them in the lottery, noting on the form that the
application for a permit to bait wildlife is for a site awarded in the CLHF
lottery and providing the CLHF trapping unit number in which the site is
located; and
e. Following the
lottery, any baiting permits as specified in this paragraph not issued in the
lottery by species and trapping unit shall be distributed on a first come-first
served basis at the fish and game region one office in Lancaster; and
(12) Baiting on the CLHF shall be
in compliance with RSA 207:3-d,
Fis
307.01,
Fis
307.02, and
Fis
307.03.
