Be wary of moose, gun control this winter

I wish everyone a Merry Christmas! Remember, the reason for this holiday is found in religious belief and not in retail stores. Rejoice in the birth of our Lord while you are handing out gifts from under the Christmas tree.

We are just past the shortest days of the year. You should start noticing the days getting longer in the next few weeks (ah, springtime!); however, we are still dealing with long, dark nights and often gray, flat-light days. Moose are looking for the easiest routes to travel to conserve energy while trying to find enough food to survive. That usually means following highway corridors and bike paths.

I drove to Anchorage last weekend and noticed the Fish and Game sign along the Glenn stating that about 185 moose have been involved in vehicle collisions in the Mat-Su so far this year, even with the almost non-existent snow cover we’ve had to date! The game biologists in Palmer tell me the high number of moose-vehicle accidents this year is unprecedented, even compared to “normal” snowfall years!

In a news release, both Fish and Game and the Department of Transportation are advising drivers to:

Drive according to weather conditions. Reduced driving speeds at night and during adverse weather conditions allow motorists better opportunity to spot moose near roadways and provide more time to react should animals bolt into the road. Be alert. Deliberately and continuously scan for wildlife on both sides of the road and along road corridors and medians. Drivers preoccupied by cell phone conversations or other distractions are much more apt to collide with moose. Stay tuned. Cow moose crossing or standing near roads are often accompanied by calves; reduce speed when moose are spotted and look for additional animals that may be crossing behind the first.Observe the Signs. Watch for highway warning signs marking high moose-vehicle collision areas and well-known moose crossing areas such as moose ranges or refuges, and be especially alert for a few miles before and beyond those areas.Back Off. Increase the distance between you and the car in front of you to allow for greater braking distances and reaction time. Other Clues. Watch for flickering in the headlights of oncoming traffic or against reflective signs or delineators that may be caused by an animal crossing in front of that vehicle.

Motorists involved in or who witness moose-vehicle collisions should call Alaska State Troopers. Injured moose should be reported to the nearest Fish and Game office during normal business hours, or to the troopers outside normal business hours.

Proposed gun control a concern to many Valley residents

A good friend recently emailed me an article published on Dec. 3 by John Lott refuting President Obama’s claims that mass shootings only happen in America. John Lott hails from academia and originally believed in strict gun control measures. He started doing research to support his position. The more he investigated the available information, the more he became convinced to protect and support the right to keep and bear arms.

In his article, “The facts shoot holes in Obama’s claim that U.S. is only host to mass killings,” Lott points out that, from 2009 to mid-June, 2015, and when adjusted for population size to allow across-the-board comparisons, “Norway had the highest annual death rate, with 2 mass public shooting fatalities per million people. Macedonia had a rate of 0.38, Serbia 0.28, Slovakia 0.20, Finland 0.14, Belgium 0.14, and the Czech Republic 0.13. The US comes in No. 8 with 0.095 mass public shooting fatalities per million people. Austria and Switzerland are close behind.”

He continues, “In terms of the frequency of attacks, the United States ranks ninth, with 0.09 attacks per million people. Macedonia, Serbia, Switzerland, Norway, Slovakia, Finland, Belgium, and the Czech Republic all had higher rates.”

Regarding recent terrorist activities, Lott states, “Between 2007 and 2011, there was an average of 6,282 terrorist attacks per year outside of Iraq, Afghanistan and the U.S. On average, more than 27,000 people were killed, injured or kidnapped each year. Obama keeps using these attacks to advocate requiring background checks on private transfers of guns. Such a requirement, however, already exists in France and almost all of Europe. The background checks failed. So too did France and Belgium’s complete bans on the weapons used in those attacks. The terrorists who attacked those countries still got the weapons that they wanted.”

Mental illness and terrorist ideologies are the problem, not guns!

Howard Delo, a retired fisheries biologist, writes a weekly outdoors column for the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman.