Don Young, Fairbanks area biologist with the Department of Fish and Game, presents the department's Intensive Management program for moose in game management unit 20A to a standing room only crowd Thursday evening, Jan. 19, 2012. More than 225 people filled the room and spilled out into the lobby of Pikes Waterfront Lodge for a meeting of the Fairbanks Fish and Game Advisory Committee. They met to take public comment on the future of antlerless moose hunts in game management units 20A and 20B around Fairbanks.
No vote was taken Thursday, but the Fairbanks Fish and Game advisory committee took testimony and heard a presentation from biologists in anticipation of a vote early next month.
The time frame for public comments is still open.
The antlerless hunt results in the harvest of about 600 mainly female moose in game management units 20A and 20B around Fairbanks. It is designed to keep moose populations from exceeding sustainable levels for the habitat. Critics say killing the cows is reducing the moose population too fast.
The hunt must be authorized each year by at least three of four advisory committees. In addition to Fairbanks, other advisory committees are for Delta, Minto-Nenana and Middle-Nenana areas.
Before the Fairbanks committee began taking testimony, Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologists Don Young and Tory Hollis gave recommendations for re-authorizing the hunt. They said moose populations were at a higher level in the Fairbanks area than anywhere else — at a density of two moose per square mile in places. The population is not as well-fed because of this density, they said.
Hunters, many with decades of experience, then took turns coming to the microphone. Some told stories of seeing too few moose recently, others too many.
Some testimony questioned the reliability of the state’s aerial moose surveys.
“It reminds me of Piglet and Pooh walking in circles,” said Dirk Nelson, a hunter who argued the antlerless moose hunts have lowered the population and should not be re-authorized.
Another common thread was hunters who said they supported the antlerless hunt because it gave them access to affordable meat. Lance Nelson said he works construction during the summer and is not easily able to take a week off in September to go hunting. Others praised the accessibility of road system hunts.
Rules change?
While it’s taken three of the four area advisory committees to approve the antlerless hunt in the past, Young said there has been some talk at the state Board of Game this year of re-interpreting these rules.
Now being discussed is a possibility that an advisory committee should not be able to influence reauthorization of a hunt if the advisory committee area is not within the boundaries of the game management unit.
For Fairbanks that would mean the local advisory committee would not influence the decision for unit 20B because it is across the Tanana River.
The possible change only came up this week and the Fairbanks advisory committee is still taking comments for both units 20A and 20B, Young said.
Contact staff writer Sam Friedman at 459-7545.
Until then, I'll continue to hunt.
Hunters in the lower 48 have been harvesting doe's for ages, in some places it's even MANDATORY you take a doe before you can kill a buck, and the whitetail and mule deer are just fine. I've not personally taken a cow (yet), and haven't tried, but would have absolutely no problem with it. If the numbers support it, harvest the animals.
There is no cow season there. Where did the moose go?
Also Cow moose hunts are not hurting the Bull population. When I was cow hunting last year I saw over 20 bulls in a weeks time. They are there you just have to know how to call them in.
I think the biggest complaint right now is last year on September 20th it was still over 70 above out and nothing moves when it is that warm out. They should really look at changing the season from the 1-15 to the 15-30th. There would be less waste of moose. If you are 2 days down a trail your moose may not make it back due to the weather.
Excellent post.. good to hear from people that complete the whole process from A to Z by theirselves. It's a great family experience. I had a younger coworker help me with processing a caribou this year. He thanked me for "letting him help". He said that he missed doing this with his family since growing up an leaving home. GLTY
Yes, the salmon runs in the Yukon sure proves otherwise.... ADFG allowed constant commercial overharvest for years and now the subsistence fishermen are told to eat the chum...
Some might have issue with ADFG's decisions based on the past.
For Fairbanks that would mean the local advisory committee would not influence the decision for unit 20B because it is across the Tanana River.
20A is across the river NOT 20B ... Dont these articles get edited and fact checked before they are published I'm starting to think no. Children in middle school journalism classes wrote better articles than the news miner.
A moose is a moose, not a person. If you can't tell the difference between animals and humans your probably so far off you'll never understand.
Dodo birds were highly inefficient and lucky to survive as long as they did. Moose, on the other hand, are like fish in water, birds in air, they are extremely well suited to their environment.
And, I know that for us, moose is quite a bit cheaper than beef. We butcher it ourselves, which is a huge cost savings.