Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Delta Junction Cow Moose Hunt Results?

Mr. VernAK,
If I understand you correctly, you authorized the slaughter of the resident cow Moose population before a study was done?

Before the killing began, there were enough Moose to meet the requirements of our resident Wolf and Bear populations; not to mention feeding the many local residents and visitors who shared the available hunting area.
Now we have to count on the killing of even more Wolf and Bears because there are no longer enough Moose to feed them?

F&G claims there are not enough Moose in the area and authorized the killing of Grizzly Bears without requiring a permit (fee/tag) for residents, in recent years. So which is it, too many Moose or not enough?

In the past, F&G claimed any over population of Moose in Delta Junction would migrate to other less densely populated areas. Obviously not all of Alaska is overrun with Moose. Are you saying they lied all those years in the past?
Your assistance in clarifying this matter is most appreciated.
Best Wishes

vern; sorry i didnt mean at blair lake. there was a bar down around delta. there was also a place outside of fairbanks called the squadron club. it was the fuselarge of a B-24 is that still there?and the log cabin. i really loved that place (alaska) i wish i never left. maybe ill return one day.

Windwalker, if you've got something to say, why don't you say it, instead of asking all these criptic questions?

Windwalker,

Thanks for your input. I wish I had the authorization abilities you have bestowed upon me. An Advisory Committee is exactly that, ADVISORY! If you talk with other AC members, you will find that I am very moderate in my cow hunt decisions and in retrospect [after observing current willow degradation] that may have been wrong. I do not always agree with F&G staff and worked hard to delay cow hunts in 20D South until we could observe the results in 20As calf and antlerless hunts.

The calving and twinning rates next spring will tell the story.

Let me correct my statement regarding habitat survey....the correct term is "browse survey"...a rather detailed process that may allow F&G to better correlate browse to moose population. There are several indications that the local moose have made maximum use of their habitat and the decline may have begun.

Before [and after] the cow hunts began, the annual harvest of bull moose has been around 200....not much of a yield for a growing herd of 5,000-7,000. Certainly not managing for "Highest Sustainable Yield".

I have heard no claims by F&G that their are too few moose in South 20D.....They do agree that North 20D could sustain a higher moose population but the large predator population keeps that herd growth supressed. The predator decisions are not related to moose alone....the DCUA sheep and McComb caribou are also a large part of the equation.

I have heard no F&G staff claim that moose would migrate from high density to low density population areas. You would know that if you had attended the Moose Management Workshops held in Fairbanks and Delta, at great expense.

I got involved in the local AC because I had heard so much "coffee shop biology" that I wanted to try to educate myself a bit....there is a lot to learn and a lot of different opinions.

I'm urging you to get involved....attend meetings, seek opinions and keep your mind open.....trolling the chat rooms is not beneficial.

You seem to be interested in the wildlife in your neigborhood. Are you aware that the Chairman of the Delta Farm Bureau wants the Delta Bison Herd eradicated? That's a good place to expend your efforts.

Pod,

The old airplane bar is long gone or covered up....an ex-trooper friend is here and he says it was a wild joint.

The old bars in Delta were the Evergreen [Walt} and The Buffalo....

It's been a good place to live....a bit chilly and windy.

Vern

seems like the questions are a good enough way to get answers to me.

Its actually fairly typical at times of game dept, they make a move, sometimes not done with evidence to back it up and sometimes with political pressure and the move turns out bad.

its sure happened here at home before.

Luckily our game dept's last move actually helped the deer herd more than they ever have and I'm thankful for that.

I guess one can't ask questions anymore with the current administration running the US?

Vern,

I appreciate the info. I admit that I am not nearly as involved as I could/should be with the game management in Alaska. I thanks you for your efforts. Its easy to armchair quarterback about what needs to be done and how to go about it.

You statements seem on twinning rates seem to follow what I have seen the past 3 years hunting caribou in the area. (I hunt moose in the fall in a different GMU so I really have no dog in this fight.) I don't recall seeing a single twin set of calfs and I've seen A LOT of moose in there over these years.

Thanks agin for enlightening us.

lanche,

Thanks!

This Game Biology Science is improving.....there is a lot to learn but F&G is getting better data. But data only goes so far....who knows when Mother Nature will send 6' of snow or a new willow parasite

Previous moose population estimates were based on counts with +/- 20% confidence factor. [I wish I could give my accountant and the IRS some +/- 20% numbers.] The Geospatial Moose Surveys are now using confidence factors of +/- 10%.....a huge improvement! These are verified by other independent observers counting the radio collared moose prior to the official count and cross-checking.

ADF&G publised a brief flier 2008 Geospatial Moose Survey 20A. It gives you a better idea of the procedure.

For further information, see if you can borrow the DVD, Interior Alaska Moose Management. It's a taping of the Fairbanks and Delta Moose Management Workshops.....very informative...If you can't find one, contact me after Moose Season and I'll loan you mine.....

vern: thank you for your response. brought back good memories. paid a few 50.00 fines thanks to a misunderstanding or two in that place. my best

WW-
As I'm sure you know, sometimes it is a matter of the "kind" of moose and not necessarily the "amount" of moose. F&G needs to have a bull/cow ratio for an optimum population. The number of cows was outstripping the forage and altering the B/C ratio. That's the basis for the cow hunts.

There is a decrease in moose population, but a positive change in the ratios. It's all about management, not just numbers.


I've now given you more information than I know!

Gentlemen,
I wish to thank you for the additional information. The more we have to review, the better off we all should be; hopefully including the Moose.
Please be assured I am well aware of the need for a bull/cow ratio that will benefit herd growth in a stabilized manner. Observed it many years ago in the lower 48, regarding Deer.
All of my questions and thoughts regarding this matter are based on first hand input from the Delta Junction office of F&G (over the past 18 years) and personal observation in the field.
Best Wishes for a successful hunt, to you all.