Applications for this year's lottery now are available online through the department's website, www.mefishwildlife.com. Completing the application online is a convenience that thousands of hunters are using because the form's easy to fill out and they receive instant confirmation that they've been entered into the lottery.

The deadline for online applications is 11:59 p.m. on May 13, 2011.

MDIF&W no longer prints or mails paper applications for the moose lottery. If an interested hunter is unable to apply using the online licensing system, the Department suggests:

• Picking up a February issue of The Maine Sportsman or Northwoods Sporting Journal. The paper application is printed on Page 2 in The Maine Sportsman and on the back cover of Northwoods Sporting Journal.

• Printing out a paper application from MDIF&W's website at www.mefishwildlife.com, fill it out, and mail it with your payment to the Department;

• Coming to MDIF&W's main office to fill out a paper application. The address is 284 State Street in Augusta;

• Sending a stamped self-addressed envelope to MDIF&W at the address below. Department personnel will mail a paper application that can be filled out and mailed with your payment to MDIF&W. The address is:

Moose Permit Application Request
Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
41 SHS, 284 State St.
Augusta, ME 04333-0041

This year, 3,205 permits will be allocated in the state's 28 Wildlife Management Districts (WMDs). This is an increase of 65 permits from 2010, primarily in WMDs 22 and 25.

Season dates are:

• September 26-October 1: WMDs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 19
• October 10-15: WMDs 1-14, 17, 18, 19, 27, 28
• Nov. 7-12: WMDs 2, 3, 6, 11
• Oct. 31-Nov. 26: WMDs 15, 16, 22, 23, 25, 26

The 2011 Maine Moose Permit Lottery will be held in mid-June at Cabela's in Scarborough. The date and time will be announced closer to the event.

For complete 2011 Moose Permit Lottery rules, please visit www.mefishwildlife.com. Please call (207) 287-8000 if you have any questions.