New Hampshire
A deer hunt this weekend is reserved for the youngest generation of hunters – The Boston Globe
“Youth weekend gives adult hunters the opportunity to pass their knowledge on to the next generation,” said Becky Fuda, the Deer Project leader for New Hampshire Fish and Game, about the hunt the state first established in 1999.
“Mentoring a young person can remind hunters why they started hunting and help preserve these traditions in New Hampshire,” she said. “It can be very rewarding to teach a young hunter to find and track deer and, hopefully, to harvest and field dress one as well.”
Fuda said the prospects for the hunt this year are excellent, pointing to a healthy deer population around the state.
Last year, young hunters took 249 deer during the weekend, and the harvest of adult bucks over the course of the hunting season was the second-highest on record — at 8,295 deer. Overall, 13,136 deer were harvested in 2023, according to a state report.
Severe cold and snow can have an impact on the deer population, but that wasn’t the case last winter, given the mild temperatures, according to the report. Warmer winters mean the deer population could continue to increase, the report said.
There is no minimum age for youth hunting in New Hampshire, but hunters under 16 must be accompanied by a licensed adult 18 years or older, according to Fish and Game.
Jill Kilborn grew up hunting with her dad in northern New Hampshire, and this weekend, she said she plans to take her 11-year-old daughter Elsie on the youth hunt for the first time.
“I think she’s excited,” said Kilborn, who now lives in Island Pond, Vt. “We’ve done a lot of prep. We try and get out and do a lot of shooting with the kids. We try to instill the need for responsibility to ensure you’re doing it in an ethical way.”
Along with her husband Dan Kilborn and her 14-year-old son Jackson, she said the family will participate in Vermont’s youth hunt, which is happening the same weekend.
The family will head to the small dairy farm in Derby, Vt., where Dan Kilborn grew up, which Jill Kilborn said has become a family tradition in the four years her son has been hunting. She recalled being with her son when he shot his first turkey, and the mixed emotions he felt after killing the animal.
“There was a lot of joy right off the bat, but then after that initial joy there’s the feeling of yes, this is serious. Like, we took the life of something, we need to treat it properly,” she said. “It’s a big thing to take the life of an animal. We use every part of it that we can and appreciate the sustenance it’s going to provide.”
Kilborn said that hunting from a young age shaped her interest in the outdoors and her career, leading her to become a wildlife biologist for Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, where she mostly works with threatened and endangered species.
“It is at the foundation of being connected to the land and to the wildlife around me. It all stems back to the relationship I had with hunting,” she said. Now, she said, she can see her children becoming more connected to the landscape through hunting.
Hunting deer is part of New Hampshire’s management plan, as there are several parts of the state where the deer population is higher than they’d like it to be. Too many deer can have a negative impact on plant and wildlife diversity, as deer can completely remove the shrubs and tree seedlings that they eat, according to PennState College of Agricultural Sciences.
Some question the merits of introducing children to hunting.
“It’s sad because children are born with a natural compassion for animals. That’s why we give them stuffed animals,” said Joan O’Brien, president of the NH Animal Rights League. “I think hunting trains that compassion out of children, and it’s tragic.”
She said there are plenty of ways for young people to get outside that don’t involve guns or killing anything.
To stay safe during hunting season, Fish and Game recommends people recreating outdoors wear blaze orange to be easily visible to hunters. It’s also recommended to stick to established hiking trails where encountering hunters is less likely. Choose the right time to recreate outside and remember that wildlife, and therefore hunters, are most active at dawn and dusk.
The state also has additional safety recommendations for hunters, including keeping control of firearms at all times. Hunters should also wear safety glasses and always keep track of where their hunting partners are. Hunters are expected to be sure of their target and know what is beyond it, according to the state.
You can keep track of the hunting seasons in the state here.
Amanda Gokee can be reached at amanda.gokee@globe.com. Follow her @amanda_gokee.
New Hampshire
N.H. lawmakers to vote on increasing tolls, civil rights, and k-12 education – The Boston Globe
One proposal (Senate Bill 627) would generate more than $53 million per year in estimated revenue for turnpike projects by essentially doubling what certain cars pay on the state’s toll roads.
The cash fare for Hampton’s main toll booth on Interstate 95, for example, would jump from $2 to $4 for cars and pickup trucks. The toll wouldn’t increase at all for motorists who use New Hampshire’s E-ZPass transponders.
“Surrounding states already have the same in-state discount structure in place,” Democratic Representative Martin Jack of Nashua wrote on behalf of a House committee that unanimously recommended the bill.
A potential hitch: Governor Kelly Ayotte. She’s expressed opposition to the whole toll-hiking idea, and proven she’s not afraid to use her veto pen.
Modifying civil rights standard
Another proposal (Senate Bill 464) would add a few words to the state’s Civil Rights Act. Instead of addressing conduct that is merely “motivated by” a legally protected characteristic, the proposed revision would address conduct that is “substantially motivated by hostility towards the victim’s” protected characteristic (such as their race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or disability).
The prime sponsor, Republican Senator Daryl Abbas, an attorney, testified the change was small and aligned with the law’s intent. But the attorney who oversees the Civil Rights Unit at the New Hampshire Department of Justice, Sean Locke, testified in opposition, saying the proposal could reduce protections, especially since the meaning of “substantially” is somewhat vague.
The House is also weighing a proposed amendment that would add a few more words than Abbas’s version, potentially narrowing the Civil Rights Act’s applicability a bit further.
Open enrollment for K-12 schools
A third proposal up for a vote on Thursday (Senate Bill 101) would make every K-12 public school in New Hampshire an “open enrollment” school. That way, students could freely choose to transfer to a district other than the one where they live.
The proposed policy is controversial, partly because of how schools are funded. Districts rely mostly on local property taxes to cover their costs, as the state government chips in relatively little, and property tax rates vary widely from one community to the next. That generates concern about who will foot the bill when a student transfers.
In light of those concerns, Republicans are offering a compromise amendment to SB 101 that would require the state to provide more money per pupil that a district receives via open enrollment, as the New Hampshire Bulletin reported. Democrats are offering their own amendment to establish a study commission on this topic, rather than adopt the proposed policy now.
Lawmakers have until May 14 to take action on the bills that came from the other chamber, though they have until June 4 to iron out any discrepancies.
Amanda Gokee of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
This story appears in Globe NH | Morning Report, a free email newsletter focused on New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles elsewhere. Sign up here.
Steven Porter can be reached at steven.porter@globe.com. Follow him @reporterporter.
Boston MedFlight often touches down at the scene of some of the worst tragedies in New England – where minutes can mean life or death for a victim. The critical care transport operation is now expanding with a new base in New Hampshire.
The organization is hosting an open house at the new Manchester location on Thursday.
Boston MedFlight flies a critical care transport paramedic and nurse on every flight. Jaik Hanley-McCarthy says their helicopters and ground vehicles are equipped to handle just about any emergency medical procedure.
“Anything that can be done in the ICU,” explained Hanley-McCarthy. “We have a mobile lab so we can draw blood and run labs in real time.”
Boston MedFlight now has five bases across the region.
“Having a base in Manchester just expands this Boston-level care even further north to the more remote areas of the state,” said Hanley-McCarthy.
Boston MedFlight operates as a network of bases and some of the locations are staffed 24 hours.
Chief Executive Officer Maura Hughes says the nonprofit operation survives on public and private donations.
“We provide about $7 million in free care every year to patients,” said Hughes. “Not every hospital can be everything to every patient. We’re really the glue that keeps the health care system together.”
Heather Young says her daughter, Teighan, is still alive because she was flown for a critical assessment and procedure after falling off a truck and hitting her head.
“She should not be driving and walking and talking and all the things she’s doing as quickly as she is,” said Young.
Teighan just turned 18 and plans to go to college to study the medical field.
“I want to be a nurse and help other people,” she said.
It’s stories like this that keep the men and women who work Boston MedFlight focused on their mission.
“I think we just go call by call and try to do the best we can,” said Hanley-McCarthy. “I think when we stop and truly think about it, I think that weight is pretty heavy.”
Boston MedFlight also has a yearly reunion where patients and the team get together here in Bedford to meet and check in on their progress. It really shows you how connected they are to the people they help.
New Hampshire
Hiker who set out in warm spring weather found dead after snowstorm in New Hampshire mountains
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A Massachusetts hiker who set out in warm spring weather was found dead deep in New Hampshire’s White Mountains after a snowstorm dumped several inches of snow in the area, authorities said.
Kent Wood, 61, of West Roxbury, was discovered Tuesday evening on a remote section of the Kinsman Pond Trail in Franconia Notch, about 5.5 miles from his vehicle, according to New Hampshire Fish and Game.
Wood had driven to Franconia Notch on April 17 for a weekend camping and hiking trip, and set out on a hike the next morning in warm, clear weather, officials said. Family and friends last heard from him Saturday afternoon.
When he failed to return or make contact for two days, officials said relatives reported him missing Tuesday morning, prompting a large-scale search.
HIKER IDENTIFIED, POPULAR TRAIL CLOSED AFTER DEADLY FALL A UTAH’S ZION NATIONAL PARK
An aerial view of Franconia Notch State Park in New Hampshire, where a hiker was found dead on Tuesday. (Joseph Sohm/Universal Images Group, File)
Rescuers quickly learned Wood had packed for mild conditions, not the three to five inches of snow that fell in the area between Sunday and Monday.
Fog hovers over a narrow road through Franconia Notch in the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire on Dec. 27, 2021. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis)
Search teams from Fish and Game, PEMI Valley Search and Rescue, and the Army National Guard launched a coordinated effort, focusing on the Lonesome Lake and Kinsman Pond areas.
FAMILY’S SPRING BREAK HIKE TURNS INTO LIFE-OR-DEATH RESCUE AFTER PARENT FALLS 70 FEET OFF UTAH CLIFF
Conservation officers located Wood’s body around 7:41 p.m. Tuesday. Crews carried him out overnight, reaching the trailhead shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday.
Franconia Notch and the Appalachian Trail are seen in New Hampshire on Sept. 21. (Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images)
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Since Friday, six hikers from Massachusetts have been rescued in the White Mountains, Fish and Game said.
Officials are reminding hikers that winter conditions still grip the mountains, with snow, freezing temperatures and rapidly changing weather.
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