AUGUSTA, Maine (AP)   Maine wildlife regulators will likely make a decision by the end of the month on a proposal to increase the number of moose hunting permits in the state for the second consecutive year.

Biologists in the state have recommended increasing the number of moose permits by more than 10 percent, to more than 2,800. A spokesman for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife says a final decision will likely be made about the proposal in three weeks.

The increase in permits would represent a continued reversal of a trend toward cutbacks from earlier this decade. Biologists say they’ve seen some encouraging signs about the survival of moose in the state.

Moose permits are given out via a lottery that typically attracts tens of thousands of entrants.