CONCORD — There will be a new store opening in time for holiday shopping. It's a virtual store, accessible by anyone with Internet service.

The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department will launch its online store sometime this month, although they're not saying exactly when. When the store is ready, there will be an icon for it on the department's Web page, www.wildnh.com.

Fish and Game has been selling merchandise for years, but in small quantities and without a lot of fanfare.

"Because our mail order system was old-fashioned and people are into buying things online, this will be a lot more efficient for us and more convenient for our customers," said information officer Liza Poinier.

The store will allow the department to offer more products, and will put fulfillment and shipping in the hands of an outside contractor.

As it is now, consumers can order a few things off the Web site — mugs, calendars, caps and T-shirts. Or they can buy limited merchandise at the department's Concord office when going in to buy a hunting or fishing license. The department also sells its wares at sporting expos or at events it sponsors. The online store will not only expand the product line but also awareness — and that's really what it's all about.

"This has been an ongoing pursuit for three or four years. We've been trying to find a provider to do this ... to reach out to the masses with our products," said Mark Beauchesne, the department's advertising promotions coordinator. "We reap the benefits of the dollars of the merchandise, but more so the message, the branding. It helps us reach out to some of our nontraditional audiences."

An expanded merchandise line and audience should translate into increased revenues, but no one is expecting it will generate a lot of money.

"It's not going to fix a broken budget," Poinier said. "But it will be nice."

No one could pinpoint exactly when the department started selling items with the Fish and Game logo, but it has been a while. The department also produces an annual calendar and publishes a bimonthly magazine, "New Hampshire Wildlife Journal," both of which are available on the Web site.

Department officials believe the magazine is something of a hidden gem and hope more people subscribe to it when the online store opens.

"It has been around, under two or three different names, since the 1980s," Poinier said. "It's a beautiful magazine, advertising free. We are the only magazine that focuses specifically on fish and wildlife and outdoor recreation in New Hampshire."

She said people enjoy having merchandise with the Fish and Game logo — caps, mugs, T-shirts and sweatshirts.

One of the more popular items is the 1865 moose sweatshirt, according to Beauchesne, as well as T-shirts featuring a petroglyph of a deer. The designs are all original, the work of staff artist Victor Young. Fish and "wild" designs are popular, too, he said. The 1865 designation reflects the year authority was first granted to manage wildlife in New Hampshire.

Don't expect the department to go wild with its merchandise line. Beauchesne said there's such a thing as oversaturation, and the products they have now are pretty much what will be offered through the online store.

"It's paying for itself and making a couple of dollars," he said. "The value is far more reaching than the money. It's more or less an opportunity to help spread our messages, show how diverse we are. We touch everybody and the merchandise helps carry that message."

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