Number of moose cause for concern

Another year has begun. So far, I haven’t messed up any checks with the wrong date, but I haven’t written any checks this year, either.

The recent cold snap and various medical tests have kept me close to home. The good news (or bad, depending on your point of view) is that I am expected to live, that was never an issue. It’s just tough getting to be a little older each year.

We’ve spent the last month or so writing about various Christmas present suggestions or the need for some control over the sport fish guide industry. Let’s take a moment to look at some other items fast approaching us for the coming year.

Earlier this week, I had a pleasant discussion with Tim Peltier, acting area management biologist for the Wildlife Division of ADF&G in Palmer, about the moose situation in Unit 14A. The department had flown inventory surveys this past November and December to get an estimate of moose numbers in the area. Peltier said the field conditions for surveying were excellent early on and, despite winds that came later in the study, staff was still able to cover the specific areas needed to compile good numbers.

The surveyors found an estimated 7, 000 to 8,000 moose in Unit 14A. Ideally, the department would prefer to see 6,000 to 6,500 moose in the same area. With the increased number of moose, I asked how the bull/cow ratios looked. According to Peltier, to maintain a healthy breeding population, Fish and Game prefers to see at least 20 bulls per 100 cows (1:5) ratio; 25 bulls per 100 cows (1:4) is even better. He said preliminary estimates put the bull count at about the same number as the last survey done in 2008. However, since the overall number of moose has increased, that means the number of cows has also increased.

The net effect of having the same number of bulls and higher numbers of cows means the bull/cow ratio has decreased. The estimated range from this survey is about 18 bulls per 100 cows, significantly below the minimal one bull per five cows and well below the ideal of one bull for every four cows necessary to maintain healthy breeding conditions.

Since it appears we have a low ratio of bulls to cows and, additionally, an over-population of moose in Unit 14A, I asked Peltier how the department planned to approach management of the moose population to re-establish the proper numbers. He said one potential solution being looked at by the department involves issuing more antlerless moose permits.

According to Peltier, the Alaska Board of Game (BOG) will visit the reauthorization of the antlerless moose hunts in their March meeting in Fairbanks. The BOG has to reauthorize each antlerless hunt before it can happen. Assuming the board reauthorizes all the antlerless hunts in the Valley, the department is looking to ask for the authority to issue more permits than has been done previously. Exactly how many more permits remains to be decided.

Peltier said that, in prior years, the cap for this area has been 500 permits. The department has never issued the full number of available permits and of those issued, only about half ever actually end up harvesting a moose. The survey shows a range of from 500 to 2,000 more moose than the carrying capacity of the area can support. Historically, all the surplus legal bulls available for harvest are taken each year, so in order to significantly reduce the moose herd by hunting, more cows would need to be harvested. This would require more antlerless permits to be issued.

If the BOG and ADF&G determine that issuing additional permits is the best route to follow and the board authorizes any increases, the department may consider issuing the full complement of 500 permits for the 2012 season. Any increase beyond the 500 permit cap would not come into play until the 2013 season. This timeframe would allow the department to decide where any additional permits would be issued and when they would be valid; for instance, in a fall or winter hunt period.

A side development to all this involves timing of the antlerless hunts. For 2012, there is one antlerless permit hunt scheduled from Jan.1 through Feb.28. Some Fish and Game advisory committees have expressed a concern about the potential of bulls being harvested since the majority will have shed their antlers by then, making them legal animals. The department has also expressed a concern, with the bull/cow ratio as low as it is, that any additional bull harvest will only exacerbate the potential herd health problem. As a result, the hunt dates will probably remain unchanged for 2012 since the permit drawing application period is over, but any winter hunts in the future will likely be rescheduled back into the fall season when the bulls are still sporting their headgear. A requirement of harvesting cows only will likely be added to the 2012 permit hunt requirements.

I further asked Peltier how the new “hot spot” registration moose hunt was progressing. This was a new hunt this year to attempt to minimize moose/vehicle collisions and other problems with moose hanging around highways. He said that so far one permit had been issued, but the holder was unsuccessful in harvesting the problem moose. Peltier said he plans to issue about five more permits, but rather than target a specific moose, will allow any moose in the specific hot spot area to be taken. Depending on how this specific target area hunt goes and the numbers of nuisance moose around the Valley, additional permits could be issued.

The BOG will be holding a statewide meeting in Anchorage Jan. 13-17. If you can, I would suggest you make an effort to stop by and see what’s happening. Board members will be addressing lots of proposals that could impact your future hunting and trapping efforts.

Howard Delo is a retired fisheries biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. You can leave him a message by emailing sports@frontiersman.com.