BEAR AND DEER PERMIT UPDATES

By now, bear hunters who applied for a permit should have received their permits in the mail. Bear hunters who have applied for a permit but have not yet received the permit should contact MassWildlife Permit Specialist, Lori Cookman at 508/792-7270 x141. Bear permit applications, which are on paper hunting and sporting licenses and also available for internet license buyers, may still be mailed in with the $5 fee or issued at the MassWildlife Westborough Field Headquarters or MassWildlife District offices (except the Bourne office).

Antlerless deer permit notification cards were mailed to deer hunters in mid-August. All applicants selected for their Wildlife Management Zone (WMZ) of choice were notified of their permit with a pink postcard in mid-August.To ensure receipt of the permit by archery season, postcard and $5 fee must be returned by September 3 to: "Deer Permit" MassWildlife FHQ, 1 Rabbit Hill Road, Westborough, MA 01581.

Applicants not selected for their WMZ of choice were sent yellow postcards in mid-August to allow applicants to re-apply in WMZs where permit allocations exceeded applications. Postcards for reapplication must be checked off and returned to the MassWildlife Field Headquarters in Westborough. Due to a limited number of permits available in certain WMZs, re-applicants should send in their postcards as soon as possible since re-applicant requests will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis.

The final option for obtaining an antlerless deer permit, or acquiring additional permits will occur October 10 when remaining permits will be available for sales over-the-counter. Each antlerless deer permit will come with an antlerless deer tag, increasing the hunter's bag limit for antlerless deer by the number of permits possessed. More details are posted at www.mass.gov/masswildlife on the home page.

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www.mass.gov/masswildlife