In addition to the political balancing act, Mason will oversee 200+ employees, and a plethora of departmental divisions which range from focus on game management to conservation of endangered species, to land and habitat management, law enforcement, and landowner relations with regard to public use and nuisance wildlife conflict.

Have you ever seen a Fisher swimming? New trail camera video evidence confirms even non-aquatic species will utilize the path of least resistance when presented the opportunity.

This dichotomy of differing levels with regard for the coyote further polarizes the debate. There’s a lot of people who truly love coyotes, and a lot of people who truly hate ‘em. This makes for quite the balancing act for impartial wildlife professionals when the topics of management, regulated cull, and public safety-driven pest control begin to swirl in the same social cauldron.

There have been more than half a dozen fox attacks in the area in just six months, with one unfortunate Bath resident being attacked on two separate occasions. The rash of fox attacks in the mid-coast of Maine has prompted formal action from at least one town, according to reports.

Thanks to a growing supporter-base for our mission, we wanted to look back at our top ten most popular posts and topics of 2019. This list was formulated using analytics from both this website, and our social media platforms, and averaged together to compile our most popular posts of the year in a countdown. So without further ado, we say goodbye to 2019 with a look back at our year in review!

Despite the immense benefits regulated hunting promotes, concern over protections for the natural world become more polarized as society drifts farther and farther away from these subsistence activities. This includes any perceived “perversion” of natural resources - backing both the greater hunting community and wildlife management professionals into a corner with regard to what should or should not be tolerated.

The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department will hold two biennial hearings in December, giving the general public (which includes hunters, anglers, and trappers) an opportunity to offer input on any aspect of Department operations, according to a recent press release.

While the stereotype of the modern trapper is that of an uneducated redneck with a thirst for the blood of woodland critters, this licensed trapper’s been feeling like a sir. I’ve been busy with a penned tsunami of printed goodness via several different (and well known) publications - both local to New England and abroad.

NH seeking Mass. man who handled rabid raccoon. New Hampshire officials are seeking the public’s help with tracking down a Massachusetts man who handled raccoons on a busy roadway in New Hampshire’s north country.

The new study, which has been conducted periodically since 1995, says most people across the nation support hunting, trapping, fishing and sport shooting activities. The study cautions that approval tends to ebb and flow based on the motivations of those who engage in these activities.

The Vermont Trappers Association, a statewide conservation organization with nearly 1,000 members, has made local headlines after the association donated towards the purchase of a 750-acre tract of wilderness known as the Brownsville Forest.

While the regulated hunting and harvest of abundant black bear populations relies on conservation-minded modes to administer a selective seasonal hunt, nuisance black bears desperate for a meal or causing public safety issues are dealt with when the damage takes place - regardless of time of year or the scientific merits of removing such individuals from the landscape.

With the greater hunting & fishing community leading the “financial charge” to manage and conserve wildlife for all stakeholders, the selfish perpetuation of moral superiority seems to be the driving force for local activists - shaking their fists at the hunting community and real wildlife professionals while damning the human race for ever setting foot off the designated hiking trails.

As the lines between wildlife and human settlement continue to meld, it appears even New England’s mesocarnivores have become complacent with their meal choices. Police in Stratham, New Hampshire reported via Facebook about the odd call and subsequent removal of a bobcat from a local Burger King rooftop.

Now that breeding and birthing seasons have passed, youngsters are on the move learning to forage independently. The curiosity factor is at peak to say the least with those infamous little stripped stinkers.

July marks the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, which declared the 13 American colonies free and independent from British rule. The 4th of July also marks a time to reflect on our American heritage as well as New England’s rural culture - which includes activities like hunting, trapping, and immersing oneself in all that our forested hills and valleys have to offer the mortal soul.

The knee-jerk cliché “they were here first” argument may very well be a valid one, but it detracts from the core issue; how do we continue to live among what has become, for lack of a better term, an evolutionary unprecedented apex predator?

The following letter was recently written by long-time sportsman’s advocate and conservationist William Carney. The following letter appeared in the April 16th editorial/opinion section of the Concord Monitor - a New Hampshire-based newspaper. Bill’s letter is reposted here, with his permission, in its full and uncut entirety. Readers of the Furbearer Conservation blog are encouraged to draw their own conclusions from the content of this letter.

For over a decade, conservationists in Maine have anxiously referenced low deer populations in the Maine Northwoods. According to local hunters, the troubled deer herd appears to be on a slow, but gradual rebound.

As Spring brings “new beginnings” for the beavers, it also inevitably brings new beginnings for mankind - in the form of heightened complaint calls for roaming beavers who’ve now inconveniently “set up shop” in the wrong parts of civilization.

Word on the street says that hunting is on a national downward trend. That “word” clearly hasn’t reached the hillside haunts of New Hampshire, as thousands of Granite State hunters and trappers still take to the woods each spring and fall to take part in the outdoor pastimes that have been integral to rural New England life.