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N.H. Fish and Game's Region 4 Office:
Serving Southwestern New Hampshire
By Gabe Gries
N.H. Fish and Game serves
southwestern New Hampshire through its Region 4 office in Keene,
which houses members of the Department's Inland Fisheries, Wildlife
and Law Enforcement Divisions. Regional staff provide many critical
services that help make this part of the state such a great place
to live, work and play. By managing and protecting our state's fish,
wildlife and natural places, they contribute to the region's high
quality of life. Tourists, including hunters, anglers and wildlife
watchers, who visit southwestern New Hampshire because of these
resources, provide significant support for our local businesses.
Following are just a few of the services provided in the southwestern
region by your state Fish and Game Department:
Over 160,000 catchable-size
trout are stocked in southwestern New Hampshire waters each
year to provide excellent fishing opportunities. The majority of
these trout are raised here in the region at the Milford State Fish
Hatchery. Biologists work with conservation partner organizations
such as the N.H. Department of Environmental Services, the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, The Nature Conservancy and many local
watershed and lake associations to ensure the continued integrity
of our fisheries resources in places such as the Ashuelot, Cold
and Connecticut rivers. Fish and Game staff are working to help
restore the fish and fisheries habitat of the Cold River watershed
after the flood of 2005.
Southwest Region Fish
and Game biologists conduct warmwater and coldwater fish surveys
in lakes, ponds, and rivers to sustain and improve fish populations
and to expand trout stocking, when appropriate. Studies conducted
on Dublin Lake, Silver Lake and Nubanusit Lake have resulted in
changes to fishing regulations designed to help to improve trout
fishing. We are actively pursuing the restoration of Atlantic
salmon to the Connecticut River watershed and the restoration
of American shad to the Ashuelot River.
Regional biologists also
monitor warmwater populations (walleye, bass, black crappie) in
the Connecticut River to ensure that these excellent fisheries
are maintained. Angling opportunities continue to expand in
our area, as this spring marks the first time that anglers will
have the opportunity to catch landlocked salmon in southwestern
New Hampshire (Nubanusit Lake) in almost 25 years!
Southwestern New Hampshire
boasts a large portion of the state's wild turkey population
(the successful reintroduction of these birds started here as well),
and Fish and Game biologists conduct summer and winter surveys each
year to determine population status, assess their relationship with
farms in the Connecticut River Valley, and regulate hunting for
spring and fall seasons. Wildlife programs are particularly important
to the residents and sportsmen and women of this region because
of the growing number of moose, deer, and bear in our area, and
the need to annually census these populations and manage their hunting
seasons.
Fish and Game staff work
to alleviate wildlife/human conflicts, which are on the rise
in southwestern New Hampshire because of increased development in
many area towns. Wildlife biologists manage and monitor important
wildlife habitats, such as deer wintering areas, and offer wildlife
damage assistance to local farmers and orchard owners. We also protect
the public by helping to monitor for wildlife-related diseases
such as rabies, Chronic Wasting Disease and Avian Influenza.
Fish and Game Conservation Officers reinforce public safety
in the region by enforcing fish and wildlife rules and regulations,
as well as boating and Off-Highway Recreational Vehicle (OHRV) rules.
They also have general criminal arrest powers. Fish and Game Law
Enforcement staff helps mitigate many landowner/OHRV issues, provides
the public with technical information and transports animals suspected
of exposure to rabies for testing.
Each year, Fish and Game
COs conduct many searches to rescue injured hikers, lost
children, Alzheimer patients and accident victims in remote locations.
Officers also conduct dive missions for drowning victims
and retrieve evidence of crimes for other state, local and federal
law enforcement agencies.
Staff in Fish and Game's
regional office in Keene help inform the public each day
by answering numerous inquiries about animals, wildlife diseases,
problems with nuisance wildlife and road-killed animals and explaining
fishing and hunting laws and where to hunt and fish. Staff also
make presentations to local schools, outdoor clubs and lake associations,
provide technical assistance to various groups and members of the
public and sell hunting and fishing licenses.
The real New Hampshire
advantage is our abundant natural resources -- the wildlife and
wild lands that contribute so much to our high quality of life.
The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, a complex organization
with an ever-expanding set of duties and mandates that benefit all
New Hampshire's citizens, is an important steward of these resources
in southwestern New Hampshire.
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Gabe Gries is a fisheries biologist at the New Hampshire Fish
and Game Department's Regional office in Keene.
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Region 4
(Southwest N.H.) contact information:
15 Ash Brook Court, Keene, NH 03431
reg4@wildlife.nh.gov
phone: 603-352-9669
fax: 603-352-8798
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