Reflections on the moose harvest at Colony High School

A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of covering a story for, and assisting with, the harvest of a moose at Colony High School. My friend and fellow fishing guide Ryan Judd teaches the Alaska Wildlife class at Colony, and he invited me to help out. I immediately jumped at the opportunity and cleared my schedule that day. This was something that I just couldn’t miss.

I showed up early in the morning and was escorted to the metal shop where we devised a plan to bring the moose into the shop’s bay door using a forklift. Ryan had successfully harvested a cow moose the evening before with a Cultural Education permit he had received through the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. We laid out a tarp and placed the carcass carefully on top of it.

Mr. Judd started his class periods going over safety precautions and handed out nitrile gloves and scalpels to those interested in participating. He explained the importance of this harvest and how taking a life should now be taken lightly. It was time to be serious and show the animal the utmost respect and care for its meat to be distributed to those in need after processing.

Many of the students were standoffish at first. A couple hopped right in and several more followed shortly after. Some opted for cut-out garbage bags to cover their clothes while others simply slipped on their gloves and started peeling away the hide. The group of students that hovered around the shop never dwindled throughout the day.

The first class worked on peeling the hide back from the rear quarter and one side of the moose and the second class helped to pop the quarters and backstrap off from one side before rolling it over. Some students were so interested that they received permission from other teachers to miss their class and participate in the process. Administrators and teachers from across the building visited the shop to watch and share in the buzz that seemed to permeate through the school. The Anatomy and Physiology class visited twice during the day and students enjoyed passing around bones and discussing various parts of the moose.

It took until just after lunch for the moose to be completely quartered and hung in game bags. The students did great work and took great care of what they were doing. They spent the next day picking hair off of the meat and deboning the quarters to prepare for bagging and freezing.

One of the things that stood out to me was the amount of students who had never harvested an animal, let alone a moose. But it was inspiring to see so many students from a variety of backgrounds hop in and try it out for the first time. I was also amazed at the dedication, safety and seriousness that the students took while whittling on the moose. And what touched me the most was hearing how some students, who had no previous background in hunting, were now interested in doing it for themselves. They said they had greater confidence if they ever had the chance to harvest a moose again.

In no other place in the country would something like this happen in the high school setting. Alaska is truly unique and I hope that this can continue into the future to educate young men and women of the importance of harvesting healthy, clean meat for sustenance.