Share The Woods And Be Safe
Gary Moore
September 18, 2025
This is a great time to be in the woods hiking and generally enjoying fall. It is also hunting season in both Vermont and New Hampshire.
New Hampshire Fish and Game offers some tips to help you stay safe and share the woods with hunters that are worth remembering.
Pick the right trail. During the fall, stick to established hiking trails. Hunters generally avoid heavily used hiking paths because activity in the woods usually frightens game species. As a result, hunters will be situated deeper in the woods.
Pick the right time. Wildlife and hunters are most active at dawn and dusk. Legal hunting times for most game run from a half hour before sunrise to a half hour after sunset. Wildlife, and consequently hunters, are most active at dawn and dusk. Midday hikes when light conditions are optimal are best for the fall. You are also much less likely to run into a hunter during mid-week hikes because the majority of hunting takes place on weekends.
Wear orange. An orange hat, handkerchief, vest, or shirt is a must for this time of year. This will make you more visible to anyone in the woods. Don’t forget to also put some orange on the dog and consider putting them on a leash at all times for their safety.
Placing a bell on your dog’s collar is an excellent way to make continuous noise during a hike and let people know you are there.
Bits and Pieces
New Hampshire's Youth Waterfowl Hunting Weekend will be held statewide on Saturday and Sunday, September 27-28.
Participating youth must be age 15 or younger and must be accompanied by a properly licensed adult age 18 or older. Adult hunters must possess a regular New Hampshire hunting license, a New Hampshire migratory waterfowl license, a Federal Duck Stamp, and a HIP permit number. The mentoring adult may not hunt waterfowl. The youth hunter is not required to have a hunting license, Federal Duck Stamp, or HIP permit number.
***
New Hampshire's Youth Pheasant Hunting Weekend will also be held statewide on Saturday and Sunday, September 27–28. Participating youth must be aged 15 or younger and must be accompanied by a properly licensed adult aged 18 or older. Accompanying adults must possess a current hunting license and pheasant permit and are prohibited from carrying a firearm, bow and arrow, or crossbow that could otherwise lawfully be used for hunting. Adult participants may accompany no more than two youths, and all youths must comply with all other requirements for the harvest of pheasant. The Granite State’s regular pheasant season opens on October 1.
***
Deer hunters who applied for a Vermont muzzleloader season antlerless deer permit by the July 31 deadline can now go to the Vermont Fish and Wildlife website to see if they won a permit. Permit winners are listed in two categories, regular lottery winners and landowners. Landowners who apply for a landowner antlerless permit are prohibited by law from posting their land against hunting.
Permit recipients will need to reprint their licenses which have been reformatted to include their antlerless permits.
Antlerless permits were available for 19 of Vermont’s 21 Wildlife Management Units and may only be used during the muzzleloader seasons on October 30-November 2 and December 6-14.
***
The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department reminds hunters that the new deer regulations approved by the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Board this year do not take effect until 2026.
The department has received questions from hunting outfitters and sporting groups about a specific part of the new regulations: the change that will allow hunters to use antlerless permits during the regular November season starting next year. The department issued antler less permits last week prompting questions from the hunting community about what seasons those permits may be used for this year.
Under the current regulations, antlerless permits can only be used during the state’s muzzleloader antlerless season, this year taking place from October 30 – November 2 and from December 6 – December 14.
***
The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department announced that entries are being accepted for the 2026 Vermont Student Fish Art Contest in partnership with Wildlife Forever.
The department invites Vermont students in grades K-12 to select a fish species found in Vermont waters and submit an illustration and one-page creative essay on the species. The essay is not required for grades K-3.
Winners will be selected for four grade categories: K-3, 4-6, 7-9, and 10-12.
Winners will receive a prize, and their art will be entered into a selection process to be featured in the department’s forthcoming 2027 Fishing Guide and Regulations publication.
Rules and information about the contest are available at this link: https://www.theartofconservation.org/fish-art-contest
Teachers who have questions may contact Corey Hart by email at Corey.Hart@vermont.gov or by phone at 802-505-5562.
Parting Shots
Purity Spring Resort’s annual Oktoberfest celebration on Friday, September 26, 2025. Held on scenic Purity Island, this lively autumn tradition combines authentic German fare, festive drinks, friendly competition, and the spirit of community in the heart of New Hampshire’s White Mountains.
The event welcomes both day guests and those seeking a weekend getaway through Purity Spring’s special Oktoberfest Lodging Package. You can check out the options at, www.purityspring.com.
Festivities run from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. on Purity Island, where guests are greeted by a glowing fire pit and spacious seating areas. A Bavarian Oom-pah music playlist sets the backdrop for the evening, encouraging revelers to raise their steins and toast the season.
Linda and I have enjoyed our stays at Purity Spring and would love to make it over for Octoberfest but her cancer means no food or water by mouth so it would not be a lot o fun for her to watch me devour sizzling bratwurst and down cold pints. Perhaps next year.
***
Why do I have to press one for English when you're just going to transfer me to someone I can't understand anyway?
Syndicated columnist Gary W. Moore may be reached by e-mail at gwmoore1946@icloud.com or at Box 454, Bradford, VT 05033.
copyright 2025 Gary W. Moore
New Hampshire Fish and Game offers some tips to help you stay safe and share the woods with hunters that are worth remembering.
Pick the right trail. During the fall, stick to established hiking trails. Hunters generally avoid heavily used hiking paths because activity in the woods usually frightens game species. As a result, hunters will be situated deeper in the woods.
Pick the right time. Wildlife and hunters are most active at dawn and dusk. Legal hunting times for most game run from a half hour before sunrise to a half hour after sunset. Wildlife, and consequently hunters, are most active at dawn and dusk. Midday hikes when light conditions are optimal are best for the fall. You are also much less likely to run into a hunter during mid-week hikes because the majority of hunting takes place on weekends.
Wear orange. An orange hat, handkerchief, vest, or shirt is a must for this time of year. This will make you more visible to anyone in the woods. Don’t forget to also put some orange on the dog and consider putting them on a leash at all times for their safety.
Placing a bell on your dog’s collar is an excellent way to make continuous noise during a hike and let people know you are there.
Bits and Pieces
New Hampshire's Youth Waterfowl Hunting Weekend will be held statewide on Saturday and Sunday, September 27-28.
Participating youth must be age 15 or younger and must be accompanied by a properly licensed adult age 18 or older. Adult hunters must possess a regular New Hampshire hunting license, a New Hampshire migratory waterfowl license, a Federal Duck Stamp, and a HIP permit number. The mentoring adult may not hunt waterfowl. The youth hunter is not required to have a hunting license, Federal Duck Stamp, or HIP permit number.
***
New Hampshire's Youth Pheasant Hunting Weekend will also be held statewide on Saturday and Sunday, September 27–28. Participating youth must be aged 15 or younger and must be accompanied by a properly licensed adult aged 18 or older. Accompanying adults must possess a current hunting license and pheasant permit and are prohibited from carrying a firearm, bow and arrow, or crossbow that could otherwise lawfully be used for hunting. Adult participants may accompany no more than two youths, and all youths must comply with all other requirements for the harvest of pheasant. The Granite State’s regular pheasant season opens on October 1.
***
Deer hunters who applied for a Vermont muzzleloader season antlerless deer permit by the July 31 deadline can now go to the Vermont Fish and Wildlife website to see if they won a permit. Permit winners are listed in two categories, regular lottery winners and landowners. Landowners who apply for a landowner antlerless permit are prohibited by law from posting their land against hunting.
Permit recipients will need to reprint their licenses which have been reformatted to include their antlerless permits.
Antlerless permits were available for 19 of Vermont’s 21 Wildlife Management Units and may only be used during the muzzleloader seasons on October 30-November 2 and December 6-14.
***
The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department reminds hunters that the new deer regulations approved by the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Board this year do not take effect until 2026.
The department has received questions from hunting outfitters and sporting groups about a specific part of the new regulations: the change that will allow hunters to use antlerless permits during the regular November season starting next year. The department issued antler less permits last week prompting questions from the hunting community about what seasons those permits may be used for this year.
Under the current regulations, antlerless permits can only be used during the state’s muzzleloader antlerless season, this year taking place from October 30 – November 2 and from December 6 – December 14.
***
The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department announced that entries are being accepted for the 2026 Vermont Student Fish Art Contest in partnership with Wildlife Forever.
The department invites Vermont students in grades K-12 to select a fish species found in Vermont waters and submit an illustration and one-page creative essay on the species. The essay is not required for grades K-3.
Winners will be selected for four grade categories: K-3, 4-6, 7-9, and 10-12.
Winners will receive a prize, and their art will be entered into a selection process to be featured in the department’s forthcoming 2027 Fishing Guide and Regulations publication.
Rules and information about the contest are available at this link: https://www.theartofconservation.org/fish-art-contest
Teachers who have questions may contact Corey Hart by email at Corey.Hart@vermont.gov or by phone at 802-505-5562.
Parting Shots
Purity Spring Resort’s annual Oktoberfest celebration on Friday, September 26, 2025. Held on scenic Purity Island, this lively autumn tradition combines authentic German fare, festive drinks, friendly competition, and the spirit of community in the heart of New Hampshire’s White Mountains.
The event welcomes both day guests and those seeking a weekend getaway through Purity Spring’s special Oktoberfest Lodging Package. You can check out the options at, www.purityspring.com.
Festivities run from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. on Purity Island, where guests are greeted by a glowing fire pit and spacious seating areas. A Bavarian Oom-pah music playlist sets the backdrop for the evening, encouraging revelers to raise their steins and toast the season.
Linda and I have enjoyed our stays at Purity Spring and would love to make it over for Octoberfest but her cancer means no food or water by mouth so it would not be a lot o fun for her to watch me devour sizzling bratwurst and down cold pints. Perhaps next year.
***
Why do I have to press one for English when you're just going to transfer me to someone I can't understand anyway?
Syndicated columnist Gary W. Moore may be reached by e-mail at gwmoore1946@icloud.com or at Box 454, Bradford, VT 05033.
copyright 2025 Gary W. Moore
This mother and two cubs were spotted watching Rob Darling and Ramona as they worked in the yard of their home in Sutton. Rob said the bears were within 40 feet of them and less than a hundred from the house located on the Wheeler Mountain Road.
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