Hunters with a current New Hampshire hunting license who want the chance to take additional antlerless deer in Wildlife Management Unit L in southeastern New Hampshire during the fall hunting season will soon be able to apply for a special permit online.

These permits will be issued through an online lottery, and the application period will run July 8-21.

Hunters should note the specific details about applying for these permits. Unit L permits are available online only.

Alternatively, hunters may purchase a Unit M permit beginning July 22 which is also in the southeastern part of the state.

Unit L Permits

Unit L permits will be distributed through an online lottery.

A two-week application period will open on July 8 at 9 a.m. and will be administered online only at nhfishandgame.com.

The application period will close on July 21 at midnight. There will be no application fee to enter the lottery.

On August 5 applicants will be randomly drawn and notified through email whether or not they were selected.

Hunters who are selected may then visit the NHFG licensing site on Aug. 5 beginning at 9 a.m. to purchase their Unit L Permit.

Lottery winners will have until midnight on Tuesday, September 1, to purchase their permit.

Hunters can visit www.huntnh.com/hunting/deer-ul-permits.html for more details on how to apply for these permits.

Up to 2,000 hunters will be allowed to purchase Special Antlerless Deer Permits for Unit L this year. These permits all come with 1 deer tag at a cost of $26.

Hunters who enter the online lottery will be notified of their selection status by email on Tuesday, Aug. 5.

Those who do not receive an email confirmation should call (603) 271-2743 for more information.

Unit M Permits:

A total of up to 4,000 hunters will be allowed to purchase Special Antlerless Deer Permits for Unit M. All Unit M permits cost $36 and come with 2 deer tags.

Sales for Unit M permits will begin on July 22. Unit M permits may be purchased either online or at Fish and Game headquarters in Concord.

Father, son rescued

On June 17 at approximately 9 p.m. a Conservation Officer received a 911 call in which a hiker and his 8-year-old son reported seeing a bear 2 miles up the Jewell Trail and were too scared to continue.

The Conservation Officer spoke with the hiker, who was identified as Gerard MacDonell, 55, of Westport, Conn., and advised him that if there were a bear to make noise and it would move off and not harm them.

After a while, MacDonell confirmed that the bear was gone and the father and son were instructed to continue down the trail.

At 10 p.m., MacDonell again called, this time stating that he thought he had lost the trail because he did not have a light source, other than the light on his cell phone.

Being approximately 1.2 miles from the Base Station parking lot, MacDonell was directed back onto the trail and with nearly 50 percent battery life, he was given instructions to continue following the trail to the Jewell Trail cut-off.

Due to the battery life of his cell phone and the distance to the parking lot, he was told that if he and his son descended at a steady pace and did not stop, they should have enough battery power to make it down.

At 11:30 p.m., MacDonell called 911 again with only 15 percent battery life. When his GPS location was plotted, he was still nearly a mile from the Base Station parking lot.

At this point, the decision was made to go get the hikers.

The responding Conservation Officer arrived at the Base Station at 12:30 a.m. Thursday morning.

After hiking for approximately 24 minutes made contact with MacDonell and his son at 12:54 a.m.

They were provided with headlamps and a flashlight, given water, and guided down the trail arriving at the parking lot at 1:55 a.m.

Once they were safely down it was learned that MacDonell and his son hiked up the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail to the summit of Mt. Washington. From there they hiked down Gulfside Trail to the Jewell Trail.

MacDonell carried small packs with some food, little water, and extra clothing, but did not possess the “10 Essentials” recommended by Hike Safe, namely a light source.

If the pair had a flashlight or headlamp, this rescue response would not have been necessary.

In addition, they departed from the trailhead at 11:30 a.m., which is much too late to start an ambitious 9-mile loop without being prepared with the essential gear.

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