Licenses cost $27.50 for residents and $99.50 for non-residents. All hunters must also possess a $5 permit, which is easily obtained by mailing in the application that comes attached to your license. Besides the permit, you must also have a state safety sticker attached to your gun barrel, which may be obtained by sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the MassWildlife Field Headquarters at the address listed below.

For more information, visit the state's Web site at www.state.ma.us/dfwele/dpt_toc.htm.

Contact the Field Headquarters at Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, Field Headquarters, 1 Rabbit Hill Road, Westboro MA 01581; or phone them at (508) 792-7270.

Travel plans including restaurants and lodging can be made with the information available at the Massachusetts Tourist Web site at www.masstourist.com.

CONNECTICUT
Connecticut is another New England state that enjoys a large population of birds spread fairly evenly between its borders, and biologist Mike Gregonis predicts another good year for Connecticut turkey hunters.

Last year, hunters bagged turkeys in every town across the state. Roughly 2,000 birds are taken annually during the spring seasons, with the towns of Lebanon, Woodstock and Colchester leading the way in numbers of birds brought to bag. Private-land hunting is responsible for the majority (almost 90 percent) of the birds killed, but only because private land is where most of the hunting pressure is focused.

Connecticut holds a large number of public-land areas that are available to -- and sometimes neglected by -- hunters, ranging in size from the 147-acre East River Marsh in Guilford, which is accessible by boat only, to the seemingly endless 17,186-acre Cockaponset State Forest in the towns of Haddam and Madison. The Cockaponset and Naugatuck state forests normally lead the others in numbers of birds taken on public land annually.

Another excellent place to begin your search for a spring trophy is Housatonic State Forest, especially the Sharon Mountain block. This parcel consists of more than 3,000 acres of mixed hardwoods and softwoods north of the town of West Cornwall. It may be accessed by state Route 7, or from Cornwall Road or Pine Swamp Road west of the highway.

Finding a piece of public hunting land should not be a problem. The state of Connecticut publishes a comprehensive list of all its public land holdings, including maps of the state- owned land, on the DEP's Wildlife Division Web site listed below.

License and permit applications are available online. The cost of a firearms license is $14 for residents, and $67 for non-residents. The required turkey permit is an additional $14 for residents and non-residents.

Hunters are advised to send in their applications early, as the permit can take up to four weeks to process. Be aware that there are some variations in season dates and license requirements and costs depending on whether you are hunting public or private land. It pays to read the regulations posted on the Web site carefully.

Hunters will find everything they need to know at http://dep.state.ct.us/burnatr/wildlife or they can write for the various state publications at the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, Wildlife Division, 79 Elm Street, Hartford, Connecticut 06106-5127. Phone them at (860) 642-5127.

Travel directions, restaurants and accommodations may be located by visiting the state tourism Web site at www.tourism.state.ct.us.