State releases proposed list of moose permits for each hunting zone
By Julie Harris, Bangor Daily News Staff
The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has released a proposed number of moose permits for each wildlife management district for 2025.
The list is unchanged from 2024, the department said.
The state will begin accepting moose permit applications on April 1 online only. The application deadline will be at 11:59 p.m. May 15. The annual moose permit drawing will occur on Saturday, June 21, in Farmington.
The annual moose hunt draws thousands of people to apply for the state’s coveted permits disseminated through a lottery system.
The DIF&W recommends issuing 4.105 permits, including 2,645 antlered and 1,460 antlerless permits. There will be 550 permits in the adaptive hunt region WMD 4A. The department also proposes continuing the three one-week seasons for the adaptive hunt.
Adaptive hunt weeks will be Oct. 20-25, Oct. 27-Nov. 1 and Nov. 3-8. The regular seasons will include antlered hunts at the end of September and mid-October and antlerless end of October into early November, just as in past years. The specific dates are not listed yet on the website.
A public hearing on the proposal, if necessary, will be held at 4 p.m. on April 8, at DIF&W, 353 Water Street, Augusta. The public comment deadline is April 18.
The department adjusts the number of annual moose permits in each wildlife management district based on data about the state’s herd collected through helicopter surveys used to estimate moose numbers and herd composition, plus hunter success rates, ages of moose killed in the previous season and reproduction rates.
The state’s biologists also discuss Maine’s approach to moose management annually with other moose biologists across the northeastern United States and eastern Canada, according to the DIF&W.
A total of 72,126 hunters applied for moose permits in 2024, with only 4,105 issued. Of those, 1,460 were for antlerless moose. Among non-resident applicants, 393 permits were awarded out of the 25,412 applications. Among residents, 3,712 permits were awarded out of 46,714 applicants.