Hunting and fishing license sales are booming this year across northern New England.
In New Hampshire, there’s been an 18% increase in resident hunting licenses since last year. Vermont saw its sales go up 20%. The increase was smaller in Maine, at 9%.
Mark Latti, a spokesperson for Maine’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, told Vermont Public Radio the state has particularly seen an increase in women hunting this year.
That squares with what Erin Merrill is seeing on the ground. She’s the president of Women of the Maine Outdoors, a group dedicated to getting more women and girls to participate in outdoor activities. She says the pandemic and remote work has offered more flexible work hours for some women.
“That flexibility I think has allowed more women to take advantage of getting their hunting licenses, getting their trapping licenses and finally feeling confident enough to go out and do it,” Merrill told NEXT.
