Fish and Game Has Been Connecting People with Life Outdoors for 160 Years

CONTACT:
Director’s Office: 603-271-3511
Mark Beauchesne: 603-271-3211
March 19, 2025

Concord, NH – This year, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department (NHFG) commemorates 160 years of fish and wildlife conservation in the Granite State through its dedicated work and continuous improvement efforts. To better connect residents and visitors with life outdoors, NHFG celebrates its accomplishments while looking forward to the next decade and beyond through the upgrade of the New Hampton Hatchery, updating the Big Game Management Plan (BGMP), development of the State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP), and various other modernization projects to better meet the needs of the public.

NHFG’s Inland Fisheries Division has begun the process of upgrading NHFG’s hatchery system at the New Hampton State Fish Hatchery to address years of needed modernization and improvement to the division’s infrastructure and operations. This investment ensures the capability to increase production, quality, and efficiency while safeguarding the aquatic environments in the communities surrounding the hatchery. The modernization will also provide a safer environment for employees to work, a better platform for educational enrichment, healthier fish, research opportunities, and the potential to produce even more fish.

Equally as important, NHFG’s Game Program has undertaken the update of the BGMP for deer, moose, bear, and turkey. The current plan, in place since January of 2016, expires at the end of 2025. The new plan will set population goals and objectives for these iconic species for the period 2026 through 2035. This effort signifies the importance of managing wildlife under the direction of a long-term plan, and once completed, this BGMP will represent the fourth plan established to guide the management of big game species in the state since the mid-1990s.

Since 2005, the SWAP has been the state’s blueprint for conserving Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) and their 27 supporting habitats. Every 10 years, New Hampshire Fish and Game’s Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program undertakes the monumental effort of updating and rewriting the SWAP to include the latest research, science, expert opinion, and trends for all 138 SGCN and their associated habitats. Each revision is reviewed and approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service before the SWAP becomes a refreshed road map for landowners, municipalities, university researchers, biologists, land trusts, and other organizations. Each SGCN and habitat has an individual profile that includes information on populations, threats, and actions needed to conserve these species. This includes habitat work, research, land conservation, education, and collaboration with the goal of protecting SGCN and keeping common wildlife common.

These milestone efforts, and all of NHFG’s ongoing work, are important because of lessons learned from our history. New Hampshire’s wildlife populations were in decline in 1865, before the New Hampshire Legislature took action to set up the first Commission on Fisheries, some species having been hunted, fished, or trapped to extirpation. Wild turkeys had disappeared, and deer, moose, and beaver populations were faltering. Soon the Fisheries Commission expanded to include the oversight of the state’s wildlife resources. Conditions gradually improved because protective laws and wildlife law enforcement curtailed over-hunting and over-fishing. In the early 1900s, license fees provided a modest funding source, and scientific advances and federal funding through the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Acts helped to make management efforts more effective. In recent years, Fish and Game’s responsibilities have expanded beyond traditional fish and wildlife management to include search and rescue, marine fisheries management, public boat access, off-highway recreational vehicle education and enforcement, endangered wildlife and habitat protection, and education and informational outreach.

“Thanks to the work of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department over the last 160 years, the Granite State is now home to many healthy wildlife populations, angling opportunities, and open land to enjoy, which are all resources that contribute to a healthy state economy and an enviable outdoor lifestyle,” said NHFG Executive Director Stephanie L. Simek, Ph.D. “This anniversary is also an important time to reflect on the difference a passionate and proactive group of Fish and Game professionals has made for New Hampshire. As we learn from the successes of the past 160 years, we must also build upon them by looking ahead in all that we do to ensure that wildlife and wild places are a part of New Hampshire’s future for generations to come.”

Come celebrate 160 years with us! Join Fish and Game for our 36th annual Discover WILD New Hampshire Day. This community event is scheduled for Saturday, April 19. It takes place from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on the grounds of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department at 11 Hazen Drive in Concord, NH, rain or shine. Admission is free. Trained service dogs will be admitted; no pets allowed. Discover WILD New Hampshire Day is a fun way for the whole family to explore New Hampshire’s wildlife resources and outdoor traditions.

To learn more about the history of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, visit www.wildlife.nh.gov/law-enforcement-division/history-nh-fish-and-game.