CONCORD, N.H. -- The Wildlife Heritage Foundation of New Hampshire has announced results of a highly successful moose hunt permit auction this year, with 24 bids coming from seven states, including New Hampshire, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Mississippi and Maine. A total of $40,726 was raised, with the five winning bids ranging from $7,888 to $8,500. In 2010, the total of winning bids came to $39,430. The highest number of bidders came from New Hampshire, with Massachusetts and Mississippi next in line.
"We are very pleased by the results this year. In talking to our winning bidders, it is clear that they are excited to support the work of the Foundation and the N.H. Fish and Game Department by participating in the auction," said Nancy Berliner, Development Coordinator for the Foundation. "These proceeds are a real boost to the Foundation's ability to fund Fish and Game programs."
The Wildlife Heritage Foundation of New Hampshire is the official non-profit partner of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. The Foundation raises money and works with wildlife professionals and conservation education partners to fund the Department's conservation of wildlife and natural places important to New Hampshire's family traditions such as hiking, hunting, fishing and watching wildlife. In recent years, the Foundation has supported publication of Wild Times for Kids, improvements at the Owl Brook Hunter Education Center, the Department's landowner relations program, Discover WILD New Hampshire Day and the National Hunting and Fishing Day Expo.
The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department provides five moose hunting permits to the Wildlife Heritage Foundation of New Hampshire under the authority granted by RSA 206:33-e. All funds generated from auction of the permits are used by the Wildlife Heritage Foundation in accordance with RSA 206:33-c to fund N.H. Fish and Game conservation programs that might not otherwise be possible. The moose permits were authorized by House Bill 41, passed by the N.H. Legislature in 2009.
Winners of the moose permit auction are allowed to hunt in the Wildlife Management Unit of their choice, and may take either a cow or a bull.
Funding for the Foundation's grant program comes from individual and corporate donors, and from the annual auctioning of fish and game permits and licenses. In most cases, contributions to the Foundation are tax deductible. The Foundation accepts general and targeted cash donations, as well as annuities and endowments. To learn more about the Foundation and how you can help conserve New Hampshire's wildlife and wild places, visit http://www.nhwildlifefoundation.org.
