Split-Hoof

There has been an uproar in northern Maine recently about the number of moose-related automobile accidents. 4 deaths so far this year have fueled residents' concerns about there being " too many moose" . People are pressing the MDIFW to do something and do it in a hurry.

While it is tragic whenever a casualty results from a collision with a moose, I cannot understand why people want to blame the moose. Drivers should be aware of the presence of moose, and adjust their driving to remain safe. Accidents do happen, and can' t always be avoided. It is just something that drivers have to accept when they get behind the wheel.

Some of the remarks made at a recent meeting on the subject leave me shaking my head in disbelief:

" Why do we care about moose?"

" If we see them in the roadway, why can' t we just kill them?"

" Who cares about the moose?"

" Human life is more important."

Would the people making these remarks like to have all animals killed, as well as drunk drivers, elderly drivers, and teenage drivers, all of which cause more fatalities than moose do?

While I have been applying for years to draw a moose permit with no success so far, I don' t want to see more permits given out if it is going to seriously impact the moose herd. 2,500 permits were given out this year, but it seems many more might be available next year if things keep going as they are. The moose population is estimated at around 30,00 animals currently. I would hate to see Maine' s moose go the way of the wolf and be completely eradicated from the state. They are an important part of the Maine forest, and should be managed in such a way.

Split-Hoof
Moosetown, Maine

liquidorange

funny thing is if you drive over the western border into quebec you dont see any moose. they kill eveyone they see i guess. maybe those people should move there then![8D]

vtbuckrulrss

makes you wonder, how many of those people calling for shooting more moose were probably against your very first moose hunt. i think a lot in vt were against shooting moose, until the threat of running into one affected them personally. by the way, i can tell you that you have at least some wolves in maine, a friend of mine, in maine, and a friend of his were coyote hunting 2 years ago, the other guy shot a dog he thought was a coyote. when he walked up, realized it was the biggest coyote he had ever seen. local warden identified it as a wolf( friend of their' s), told them to get out and shut their mouths.

Split-Hoof

liquidO - Didn' t realize there was a lack of moose in Quebec.......maybe those people should move there, either that or move to the city and see how the higher crime rates and increased auto collisions compare to the possibility of a moose encounter.

vtbuck - Yup these are undoubtedly the same people who would be against moose hunting unless it seems to benefit them. Some people just need to complain I guess......

Funny you mention the thing about wolves. I am interested in wolves, they are truly amazing animals. It makes me mad that wildlife officials continue to deny the existence of wolves in the state, even while they are killing them themselves. Until a couple of weeks ago, a wolf had been a resident of the area behind my grandparent' s house. I had seen it and heard it' s unmistakable howl on occasion while coyote hunting. It was a very large animal, pure black and absolutely beautiful. A couple weeks ago, game wardens responded to a " coyote" caught in a snare. They killed the animal (which was all black btw), and disposed of it without doing any tests to confirm if the animal was a wolf or not. My girlfriend is friends with a family that makes a business of guiding and bear baiting. The animal that they insisted was a coyote was given to them by the officials for use as bear bait!! The situation was kept quiet and I wouldn' t have known about it if not for my " insider info" . Why would they do this instead of giving the animal to biologists for testing?

It seems to me that the state knows wolves exist in Maine, but instead of trying to protect them they are trying to eradicate them before anyone finds out what is going on. Something smells really fishy........

vtbuckrulrss

on the wolf thing, my friends take on it, who is also a bear guide, feels that a lot of it boils down to money. if the state admits that there are wolves, than they would have to develop a program to protect them, including establishing protective zones, where no hunting( which means potentially a lot of lost money to the economy) would be allowed. not to sound indifferent, but i hope they kept the pelt. while not prime, i bet it was still worth a couple of hundred. prime, i saw in magazines, can go for between 3 and 4. can' t tell you where this all happened, but it was close to n.b. border. (don' t want anyone to get in trouble) where did your wolf come from, more or less?

Split-Hoof

I think your theory about the money issue is pretty accurate. It would definitely cost the state $$ to implement protection strategies, as well as the possible lost of money associated with restricting certain zones for hunting.

The wolf I mentioned came from right next to the NB border as well. Who knows, the two may have been related!

charlie brown

Here in Elko County, Nevada last year, they issued an order for all wolves to be shot on site. We think we saw one last year that we thought was a deer at first glance it was so big, and then we thought it was a coyote. When we got home there was an article in the news paper about it. It is possible for the wolves to cross the Snake River and relocate into Nevada. I' m sure that they do want them killed to save money because of the protection thing.

vtbuckrulrss

split, was it any place near calais? this was 30 miles or so from there. going back up there to hunt bear last week of sept. would move there, but doesn' t seem to be many high paying jobs in the area.

Split-Hoof

charlie brown........What are the reasons they gave for wanting the wolves killed? I consider it senseless to want to destroy such a beatiful and efficient predator as the wolf. It was human kind' s greed that killed off most of the wolves in the country, and we may never be able to repay our debt. It would be nice if more people got involved with the protection of these animals instead of trying to destroy them.

vtbuck.........I am way northwest of Calais, in the Allagash region. It is a truly beautiful area, but there is also a lack of good jobs up this way. The only real work is logging or guiding, and Canadians have taken most of the woods work. Nothing against the Canadians, but it sure makes it hard for us citizens to make a living. I was working on a christmas tree farm prior to breaking my ankle.......pay wasn' t great but the work was alright considering up here you take what you can get. At some point I will probably have to move farther south to make a better living. It will be a sad day when I have to leave, since Allagash is in my blood. The area is slowly turing into a ghost town because all the younger people who need to work have to move away.

Well enough rambling for now..........I notice the thread has gotten a bit off-topic, but that' s ok. It' s great to have some like-minded people to " talk" with while I' m waiting for my ankle to heal. Good Luck to everyone in the upcoming hunting season!