Veto pen hits moose federation

WASILLA — Coming on the heels of one of the worst winters in recent history for the Southcentral moose population, Gov. Sean Parnell is easing back on state support for the fast-growing Alaska Moose Federation.

Among the $66.6 million in vetoes for the state’s fiscal year 2013 budget announced by Parnell on Monday is $1 million veto from a $1.5 million appropriation for the federation’s orphaned calf relocation program.

In a press conference announcing his signing of the $12.1 billion budget and his vetoes, Parnell said he supports AMF, but feels the overall management of state wildlife resources falls to the state.

“I think the moose relocation is really fundamentally (a) Department of Fish and Game function,” Parnell said. “I supported an increased, frankly, the orphaned calf rescue part of what the moose federation does. I think that organization does very good work, but I did not support relocating adult moose from one unit to another.”

That the governor would be concerned AMF’s orphaned calf relocation program would also include moving adult moose is puzzling to the nonprofit group, said Ron Davis, administrator for AMF.

“That’s the other part of the question,” Davis said. Governor Parnell “is the only one who’s asked us to do adult moose (in the past) and we were never planning to do it. We take the calves to the adults. We started to build the capacity for adults, but only because the governor wanted us to.”

Although Alaska Moose Federation has been around for a decade, it gained more statewide exposure last winter when deep snowpack conditions forced herds to forage along roadways and railroad tracks. The result was a record year for moose-vehicle collisions in the Valley with more than 455 accidents. That topped the previous tally of 387 from 2003-2004.

Beginning in January, Alaska State Troopers contracted with AMF to handle all the area’s retrieval of moose road kill. Instead of approved charities retrieving the animals from along the roadside, AMF responds quickly and delivers the moose to charities on the Troopers’ list. The service is an extension of the organization’s primary mission of clearing diversionary trails to encourage and enable moose to feed away from roadways and other human interaction.

As for relocating orphaned moose, the federation said the governor’s veto won’t hamper the program in the near future since the full $1.5 million appropriation was to fund a five-year program, Davis said.

The $500,000 that escaped Parnell’s veto pen will fund orphaned moose relocation for at least the upcoming year, he said.

“It affects us, of course, because we want to make sure we understand the veto,” he said.

As for Parnell’s view that wildlife management needs to be handled through the Department of Fish and Game, AMF agrees, Davis said. In fact, the moose advocacy group works closely with Fish and Game and can’t act without obtaining permits from the state agency.

It’s a partnership the state values, said Doug Vincent-Lang, acting director for the Division of Wildlife Conservation.

“From our perspective, we use (AMF) as a key partner for a lot of things we do,” he said. “The salvage program, that’s a great program and it’s a great partnership because it’s increasing public safety.”

Vincent-Lang also praised the federation’s work clearing diversionary trails, but said the wheels may have been spinning a little fast. The governor’s $1 million veto was precautionary, he said.

“What we got a little bit concerned with was the (potential for an) adult relocation process, and that raises all kinds of serious questions in our minds,” Vincent-Lang said. “We need to make sure it’s done in a scientific manner. That also has to go under somewhat of a public process. … Basically, the governor left $500,000 in there to let them do that and to contract with a couple scientists and put together a science plan.”

For the moose federation, Parnell’s veto isn’t a death sentence, Davis said. The nonprofit also has a $100,000 state appropriation for its salvage program and $100,000 left from this past winter.

“That’s $200,000, and that’s about what it costs for a year,” he said. Now that the groundwork of buying and equipping salvage trucks is out of the way, “we’re really just on the hook for fuel, repairs, maintenance and insurance. I think we’re set just where we want to be with salvage.”

Contact reporter Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com.