It’s almost too late to apply for your moose permit

The deadline to submit an application for the 2024 Maine moose lottery is almost here.

There are 4,105 moose permits available this year, according to Mark Latti, communications director for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

The deadline for submitting an application for a permit is at 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, May 15. All submissions must be made electronically. No paper applications will be accepted. The drawing will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 15, at Riverside Park in Fort Kent.

The moose lottery has become its own institution in Maine. Hunters from Maine and beyond choose their favorite districts and try their luck. Some hunters have been waiting for decades to get their names drawn for a permit.

The drawing coincides with Fort Kent’s annual World’s Largest Ploye festival . The ploye will be made on Friday at Lonesome Pine Trails. Businesses will offer music and other activities to celebrate the 2024 Moose Lottery Drawing on Saturday.

The town says the many activities, which include Axe Women Loggers of Maine, a moose field judging contest/taxidermy exhibit, crosscut sawing, cornhole, kids’ games and face painting, a beer garden and more, highlight the area’s outdoor sporting heritage.

Festivities begin at 10 a.m. and there will be a free shuttle service available, the stops for which will be marked by moose signs.

Last year, 72,446 people applied for permits. The number of permits issued was the same as this year, but only 2,440 moose were killed during all hunts in 2023, including the adaptive hunters. The record for applications was 94,532, which was set in 1994, when only 1,200 permits were issued.