Spring turkey permits awarded through the lottery process were mailed on March 24 (see NOTE below regarding permits awarded in the lottery).

March 28, 2006

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's Division of Fish and Wildlife will offer leftover wild turkey hunting permits on the Internet beginning Saturday, April 1, 2006 at 9:00 a.m. Thereafter, leftover permits will be available 24 hours a day at www.njfishandwildlife.com and continue for as long as the supply lasts or the season is over.

Leftover permits purchased over the Internet will take seven (7) to ten (10) days to arrive. A shipping and handling charge of $2.06 for the first permit and $.56 for each additional permit will be charged by the vendor handling the automated sales for the Division of Fish and Wildlife. For youth permits, the additional fee will be $1.84 for the first permit and $.34 for each additional permit.

A valid 2006 hunting license number must be provided to purchase a permit via the Internet. You may use Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express or E-Check to pay for your permit(s) purchase.

Hunters will have the option of purchasing permits via the Internet in the comfort of their home, local library or Internet café or they can choose to do it the old-fashioned way and stand in line at a Division office. Leftover spring season permits will be sold on Saturday, April 1, at three Division field offices. Hunters are advised that Internet buyers will likely get all of the relatively few leftover permits for high demand zones and hunting periods several minutes after the sales begin. It is highly unlikely these high demand permits will be available at the over the counter locations on April 1.

Persons interested in purchasing an unclaimed permit over the counter must bring their 2006 hunting license and cash or check for $21 (for each adult permit) or $12 (for each youth permit). Hunters need not be present to purchase permits over-the-counter. A person may purchase a permit for a hunter who is unable to attend the sale if they have the absent hunter’s valid hunting license. However, a hunter in line is limited to purchasing permits for a maximum of three individuals. Photocopies of licenses are not acceptable.

For the Saturday (April 1) sale, permits will be sold between 9 a.m. and 12 noon at the following three offices: Pequest, Central Region (Assunpink WMA) and Southern Region (Winslow WMA). Beginning Monday, April 3, 2006 and as long as the supply lasts, leftover permits will sold Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the same three Division field offices.

The following zones are available on the Internet and over-the-counter on Saturday, April 1, and thereafter for as long as the supply lasts.

ZONE     PERIOD
  1     A*, B, C, D, E, G*
  2     A*, B, C, D, E, G*
  3     A**, B*, C, D, E, G**
  4     A**, B, C, D, E, G***
  5     A***, B, C, D, E
  6     A, B, C, D, E, G
  7     A, B, C, D, E, G
  8     B, C, D, E
  9     B***, C, D, E
10     A*, B, C, D, E, G**
11     B***, C, D, E
12     B***, C, D, E
14     C, D, E
15     B**, C, D, E
16     B, C, D, E
20     B, C, D, E
21     C, D, E
22     C*, D, E*

* Less than 100 permits left
** Less than 50 permits left
*** Less than 30 permits left

Spring Season Hunting Periods:
A. Monday, April 17 – Friday, April 21, 2006
B. Monday, April 24 – Friday, April 28, 2006
C. Monday, May 1 – Friday, May 5, 2006
D. Monday, May 8 – Friday, May 12, 2006
E. Monday, May 15 – Friday, May 19, 2006 and also Monday, May 22 – Friday, May 26, 2006
G. Saturdays: April 22 and 29, May 6, May 13 and May 20, 2006

Youth Turkey Hunting Day is Saturday, April 15, 2006. Youths must have a 2006 Spring Turkey Season hunting permit in order to hunt. This date is considered a one-day early extension of the regular permit that the youth holds.

Over-the-Counter Sales Locations Are:

Pequest Trout Hatchery and Natural Resource Education Center, nine miles west of Hackettstown on Rt. 46 in Oxford, Warren County

Central Region Office (Assunpink WMA), exit 11 off Rt. 195, head north, at second intersection turn right. The office is at the corner of East Branch and Eldridge Rds. Located in Upper Freehold Township, Monmouth County

Southern Region Office, one mile south of Rt. 73 on Blue Anchor Rd. in Sicklerville, Camden County

For more information on over-the-counter turkey permit sales, please call the 24-hour computerized permit hotline at 609-292-9192 or check the Division's web site.

The fall turkey permit lottery will be conducted in mid summer. Permits and non-selection notices will be mailed in early July. The Division does not anticipate having a large supply of leftover fall season permits after the mail-in lottery.

NOTE: The 2006 Spring Turkey Hunting Permits that were mailed on March 24 have incorrect season dates printed on them along with the former Director's signature. The 2005 permit printing template was mistakenly subsituted for the 2006 template.

The season dates printed on the 2006 permits are last year's dates and should not be followed. The correct dates are listed above and can also be found in the 2005 Hunting Digest, on our website and the Turkey Hunting Permit Supplement (pdf, 420kb).