900 Moose Tags in one zone to help 80 Caribou

[M shooter]

Just did the math based and based on the 2012 draw summary results WMU 353 has 900 moose tags up for grabs this year. I contacted F & W and asked why so many tags. The response was to try and help with the little smokey caribou herd. I did some quick research and according to the U of A study I found they say there are only 80-90 individuals. They did a wolf cull in the area a couple of years ago so now they want to get the ulgulate numbers down and hopefully displace more wolves.

(http://www.ualberta.ca/~rbchrist/lit...es/Page326.htm)

I wanted so see what members thought of issueing 920 tags in one zone so they could micromanage for one species. I thought it was good timing to bring this up since there was at least 3 mentions of caribou in the last magazine issue.

[Matt L.]

Caribou are way more high profile than moose pr-wise. That's all there is to it.

[steve]

Now the wolves will have no moose to eat and have to eat the bou. Wonder how many inactive traplines in 353?

[Dark Wing]

Originally Posted by steve

Now the wolves will have no moose to eat and have to eat the bou. Wonder how many inactive traplines in 353?

I don't know how many inactive lines there are but the GC local trappers association is really pushing for bounties on wolves and strongly against the poisoning of them. It's also known that the helicopter gunships are shooting moose to use as wolf bait as well.

If your still looking to be a partner on a line I may know a few guys.

[Cal]

Untill they want to stop oilfield developement any attempt at helping the caribou is just a good PR move at best, plain old useless at worst. We havnt been hunting caribou for a long time now and the situation hasnt got any better, they are simply a creature that can not addapt to a changing ecosystem very well. Untill we stop changing their ecosystem they are doomed. Killing the moose off wont help that, its been tryed befor and has failed. The old moose/wolf cycle is pretty much obsolete with whitetail deer moving into these areas. The moose population anywhere near a native reserve around here is about as bad as the caribou population, even with these two species almost eradicated the wolves still do ok.

[Huntnut]

Our AFGA club has put forth resolutions to stop this but srd has shot it down. We are putting forth those resolutions again this yeaar but I'mnot holding my breath.

[Jamie Black R/T]

i know a few guys going up in mid november for moose camp.....6 or 7 guys and 5 bull moose draws.

unreal the pressure on the animals up there. Between quads before noon and the number of tags they give out. That zone is getting pounded!

[Sooner]

In the zone i hunt, 516, it is apparently the southern tip of a cariboo migration route. Years ago when we first started hunting there, the undersubscribed draws for nov were commonly 200 plus and not always used up. This year, 37 online and 16 ish by phone in. A few years ago they doubled the tags and made it real easy to get drawn. Reason I heard from guides and one F&W officer, knock down the moose and deer so the cariboo have more habitat. I have been all over that zone by sled in the last 15 plus years, never seen one and nobody i talk to has either. I think its two fold, money grab and thin out the other ungulates. In this zone if they cut back the tags, i think the moose numbers would actually increase. But what do I know.

[Craddosk]

The purpose of it is that wolf populations and moose populations are linked. As moose populations rise, so do wolf populations. These leads to more wolves in the Little Smoky Caribou area, which translates into a greater probability of caribou-wolf interactions, which don't usually favour the caribou. As a result, more moose tags hopefully decreases the local moose population, which in terms reduces the wolf population, and ideally reduces the predatory stress on caribou.