New Hampshire moose WMU A2: permits, hunter success and the 2026 season
New Hampshire Fish and Game issues 7 either-sex moose permits for WMU A2 in 2026, part of the Connecticut Lakes region. In 2025, 7 permits there took 4 moose (4 bulls, 0 cows), and lottery hunters in WMU A2 have filled 84% of their permits over the ten seasons from 2016. The 2026 season runs nine days, October 17 to 25.
Data updated October 2026. Permits: NHFG 2026 Moose Hunting Season and Management. Harvest: NHFG 2025 New Hampshire Wildlife Harvest Summary.
Fish and Game landState forest and park landNational wildlife refugeMoose WMU A2Neighboring WMUsHighway
| Permits, 2026 | 7 either-sex |
|---|---|
| Permits and moose taken, 2025 | 7 permits, 4 moose (4 bulls, 0 cows) |
| Hunter success, 2016 to 2025 | 84% on 79 lottery permits |
| Management region | Connecticut Lakes: 1.40 moose per square mile against a goal of 2.24 |
| Season, 2026 | October 17 to 25 |
| Size | 431 square miles |
| Public land | 9.8% (26,913 acres) |
| Deer WMU | WMU A: 508 deer in 2025 |
How many moose have hunters taken in WMU A2 since 2016?
Lottery hunters filled 84% of the 79 permits NHFG issued for WMU A2 from 2016 to 2025. Success reached 100% in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. Permits fell from 8 in 2016 to 7 in 2025 as NHFG cut issuance across the state.
| Season | Lottery permits | Success |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 7 | 57% |
| 2024 | 8 | 84% |
| 2023 | 8 | 63% |
| 2022 | 8 | 88% |
| 2021 | 8 | 100% |
| 2020 | 8 | 100% |
| 2019 | 8 | 100% |
| 2018 | 8 | 100% |
| 2017 | 8 | 75% |
| 2016 | 8 | 89% |
Source: NHFG 2025 New Hampshire Wildlife Harvest Summary, ten-year moose hunter success by WMU (Dream Hunt and auction permits left out).
How is the Connecticut Lakes moose region managed?
NHFG counts moose density from deer hunters' moose sightings. The Connecticut Lakes region sits at 1.40 moose per square mile; its goal is 2.24 and permits stop if density falls to 1.06. Above the cut-off and below the goal, NHFG issues either-sex permits at a light level, about 1 to 2% of the population. Winter ticks limit northern moose: NHFG's 2014 to 2018 research found 50 to 75% of calves dying in heavy tick years.
| Region | Goal (moose per sq mi) | Cut-off | Current | 2026 strategy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connecticut Lakes | 2.24 | 1.06 | 1.40 | Light harvest |
| North | 1.28 | 0.68 | 0.84 | Light harvest |
| White Mountains | 0.47 | 0.24 | 0.14 | Permit suspension |
| Central | 0.25 | 0.20 | 0.18 | Permit suspension |
| Southwest | 0.23 | 0.20 | 0.09 | Permit suspension |
| Southeast | 0.10 | None | 0.06 | Light harvest |
Source: NHFG 2026 Moose Hunting Season and Management, Table 2.
Other Connecticut Lakes moose WMUs
| WMU | Permits 2026 | Moose taken 2025 | Success 2016 to 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| WMU A1 | 3 | 1 | 76% |
How much public land is in moose WMU A2?
9.8% of WMU A2 is public land: 26,913 of its 275,802 acres. The largest share is Fish and Game land, 21,057 acres. Towns inside: Clarksville, Dixville, Stewartstown, Second College Grant, Colebrook and Dixs Grant.
| Manager | Acres | Share of WMU A2 |
|---|---|---|
| Fish and Game land | 21,057 | 7.6% |
| National wildlife refuge | 3,336 | 1.2% |
| State forest and park land | 2,520 | 0.9% |
Measured by FilledTag inside the WMU line from NH Conservation and Public Lands (GRANIT, via NHFG) for state and Army Corps land; USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US 4.1) for federal land. Highways: NH 145, NH 26 and NH 16.
Questions hunters ask
How many moose permits are there for WMU A2 in 2026?
7, all either-sex, out of 35 statewide (NHFG 2026 Moose Hunting Season and Management). Each permittee may bring one subpermittee, and the limit is one moose per permit.
What is the moose hunter success rate in WMU A2?
84% over 2016 to 2025 on 79 lottery permits, and 57% in 2025 (NHFG 2025 New Hampshire Wildlife Harvest Summary). Statewide, lottery hunters filled 72% of their permits in 2025 against a ten-year average of 70%.
Why does WMU A2 get 7 permits?
NHFG sets permits by region. The Connecticut Lakes region has a moose density of 1.40 per square mile, below its goal of 2.24 but above the cut-off of 1.06, so NHFG offers light either-sex hunting (NHFG 2026 Moose Hunting Season and Management).
How do you get a New Hampshire moose permit?
By lottery. NHFG had 7,283 entries for the 2025 drawing, and published drawing chances of 1 in 110 for residents and 1 in 500 for nonresidents (NHFG 2025 New Hampshire Wildlife Harvest Summary). Permits are assigned to one WMU, and a permittee may hunt only that unit.
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Where these numbers come from
- Permits and regions: NHFG 2026 Moose Hunting Season and Management; NHFG Moose Hunting in New Hampshire.
- Harvest and success: NHFG 2025 New Hampshire Wildlife Harvest Summary.
- WMU boundary: NHFG Wildlife Management Units. Public land: NH Conservation and Public Lands (GRANIT, via NHFG) for state and Army Corps land; USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US 4.1) for federal land. Highways and towns: U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 primary and secondary roads; U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer, towns (county subdivisions).
FilledTag is not part of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department.