The NH Fish and Game Department is preparing its new ten-year plan for game management in our state. The Hanover Conservancy has submitted comment on the draft plan regarding its proposed management of deer and bear. Locally, the deer population has become a nuisance and a threat to forest health in the absence of effective predation. More flexible rules are needed to permit more response population management. The department also proposes to reduce the black bear population in our area by 28%, a figure that seems drastic. We support the department’s efforts to educate people to become more responsible neighbors to bears and to invest in habitat protection. Read the Conservancy statement.