Bear Baiting Permits

The bear baiting hunting season in New Hampshire starts September 1; the ending date varies by Wildlife Management Unit (for specifics, consult the current N.H. Hunting Digest, available for download from the main hunting page -- click here).

• During the bear baiting season, hunters holding a baiting permit, in addition to a current New Hampshire hunting license and bear permit, are permitted to hunt bear over bait in certain locations throughout the state.
  
  
• Hunters planning to hunt bear over bait must file for a permit from Fish and Game. Baiting applications may be picked up at Fish and Game regional offices in Durham, Keene, New Hampton and Lancaster; from local Fish and Game Conservation Officers; and from Fish and Game headquarters in Concord. Baiting applications are not available online, because they are filled out in quadruplicate.  The pink copy of the bait permit must be provided to the Conservation Officer in whose district  the baiting is to be done..  In addition to a copy of the bait permit, the permittee must also provide the Conservation Officer a detailed topographical map depicting the location of the bait site.  There is no charge for a bait permit.  Click here for information on contacting a Conservation Officer.
  
  
• Permits to bait bear on State-owned or State-managed lands where baiting is allowed -- including State Parks, N.H. Department of Resources and Economic Development (DRED) and N.H. Department of Transportation (DOT) lands, the White Mountain National Forest and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flood control areas -- are issued on a first-come, first-served basis starting April 1; guides can apply for these lands beginning  April 15. The deadline for these applications is August 1.
  
  
• Applications for permits to bait bear on private property are not subject to the August 1 deadline, but must be signed by the private landowner and must be filed with the Conservation Officer in whose district the baiting is to be done.  The permit may be mailed, however, the permittee shall not place any bait until 3 days after the date of postmark.
  

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