What's new
Forums
Members
Resources
Whopper Club
Politics
Pics
Videos
Fishing Reports
Classifieds
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Members
Resources
Whopper Club
Politics
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Forums
Hunting
Big Game Hunting
Moose
Deer have direct role in death of Minnesota moose
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="guywhofishes" data-source="post: 197063" data-attributes="member: 337"><p>That leaves hunting.</p><p> “If I were king of the world,” said Moore of the Grand Portage Band, “I would aggressively hunt deer to the point where the population declines.”</p><p> But he gets resistance to that, he said, and so does the DNR.</p><p> “I have tribal members who are furious with me for trying to manage the deer population,” Moore said.</p><p> ‘I can’t hunt them’</p><p> This year for the first time the DNR took steps to manage deer with moose in mind. Deer hunting “permit areas” in the far northeast corner of the state have been reconfigured to more clearly designate moose regions and reduce deer numbers there relative to other parts of the state.</p><p> But biologists argue that the state could do more for the sake of the moose.</p><p> For instance, the deer population goals around the perimeter of moose country are considerably higher than inside, and deer are known to migrate for many miles. And within the deer permit area around Grand Marais and up to Canada, current hunting rules are designed to increase deer numbers slightly.</p><p> “No, I don’t think a harvest strategy designed to increase deer numbers is helpful for moose,” said Mike Schrage, wildlife biologist for the Fond du Lac Band of Chippewa. That permit area, he said, “contains some of our best remaining moose country.”</p><p> Steve Merchant, the DNR’s wildlife populations manager, said that if protecting moose were the only consideration, cutting deer numbers would make sense. But human politics influence the agency’s decisions, too, he said. There are, after all, far more deer hunters than moose in that part of the state — some 11,000 bought permits to hunt there last fall.</p><p> “Some deer hunters don’t think we should worry about moose,” Merchant said. That’s not the majority, he added, but there are some who think “ ‘why should we care for moose, I can’t hunt them,” he said.</p><p> Bowe, the taxidermist from Duluth, had an even more fatalistic perspective.</p><p> “If you believe in the theory of global warming, moose are at their southern range and won’t be able to survive anyway,” he said. “That’s my take on it.”</p><p> Craig Engwall, executive director of the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association, said that it could make sense to lower deer numbers in moose range, but only if there is clear science to support the benefit and a transparent public process that goes with the decisions. In the meantime, the association is part of a $3 million project to improve moose habitat through logging to encourage patches of new forest growth and better forage.</p><p> What about the snails?</p><p> At the University of Minnesota, scientists are studying a third species that could change the equation: snails.</p><p> Deer and moose have to eat “tens of thousands of snails to be infected,” said Tiffany Wolf, an animal epidemiologist at the U’s School of Veterinary Medicine, who is working with the Grand Portage band to solve the puzzle. She wants to do genetic research that could reveal which snails end up in moose and deer feces and could help break the cycle of transmission.</p><p> Because tamping down on the number of snails, she said, would be a much easier sell than getting rid of the deer.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="guywhofishes, post: 197063, member: 337"] That leaves hunting. “If I were king of the world,” said Moore of the Grand Portage Band, “I would aggressively hunt deer to the point where the population declines.” But he gets resistance to that, he said, and so does the DNR. “I have tribal members who are furious with me for trying to manage the deer population,” Moore said. ‘I can’t hunt them’ This year for the first time the DNR took steps to manage deer with moose in mind. Deer hunting “permit areas” in the far northeast corner of the state have been reconfigured to more clearly designate moose regions and reduce deer numbers there relative to other parts of the state. But biologists argue that the state could do more for the sake of the moose. For instance, the deer population goals around the perimeter of moose country are considerably higher than inside, and deer are known to migrate for many miles. And within the deer permit area around Grand Marais and up to Canada, current hunting rules are designed to increase deer numbers slightly. “No, I don’t think a harvest strategy designed to increase deer numbers is helpful for moose,” said Mike Schrage, wildlife biologist for the Fond du Lac Band of Chippewa. That permit area, he said, “contains some of our best remaining moose country.” Steve Merchant, the DNR’s wildlife populations manager, said that if protecting moose were the only consideration, cutting deer numbers would make sense. But human politics influence the agency’s decisions, too, he said. There are, after all, far more deer hunters than moose in that part of the state — some 11,000 bought permits to hunt there last fall. “Some deer hunters don’t think we should worry about moose,” Merchant said. That’s not the majority, he added, but there are some who think “ ‘why should we care for moose, I can’t hunt them,” he said. Bowe, the taxidermist from Duluth, had an even more fatalistic perspective. “If you believe in the theory of global warming, moose are at their southern range and won’t be able to survive anyway,” he said. “That’s my take on it.” Craig Engwall, executive director of the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association, said that it could make sense to lower deer numbers in moose range, but only if there is clear science to support the benefit and a transparent public process that goes with the decisions. In the meantime, the association is part of a $3 million project to improve moose habitat through logging to encourage patches of new forest growth and better forage. What about the snails? At the University of Minnesota, scientists are studying a third species that could change the equation: snails. Deer and moose have to eat “tens of thousands of snails to be infected,” said Tiffany Wolf, an animal epidemiologist at the U’s School of Veterinary Medicine, who is working with the Grand Portage band to solve the puzzle. She wants to do genetic research that could reveal which snails end up in moose and deer feces and could help break the cycle of transmission. Because tamping down on the number of snails, she said, would be a much easier sell than getting rid of the deer. [/QUOTE]
Verification
What is the most common fish caught on this site?
Post reply
Recent Posts
Buying gold and silver.
Latest: Maddog
58 minutes ago
Newbie here.
Latest: Vollmer
Yesterday at 11:01 PM
U
Catfish anyone?
Latest: USMCGrunt
Yesterday at 10:23 PM
Backyard chickens?
Latest: Obi-Wan
Yesterday at 9:04 PM
What are these things?
Latest: SDMF
Yesterday at 8:58 PM
Cheaper Lithium for FFS shuttl
Latest: luvcatchingbass
Yesterday at 7:29 PM
T
500,000 acre habitat program
Latest: Traxion
Yesterday at 7:28 PM
Seekins rifles
Latest: Jiffy
Yesterday at 3:23 PM
Tire inflator
Latest: 5575
Yesterday at 1:09 PM
A.I. Are you Excited?
Latest: Lycanthrope
Yesterday at 9:33 AM
Polaris Ranger Windshield?
Latest: Allen
Yesterday at 8:34 AM
L
I HATE coyotes!!!!
Latest: LBrandt
Yesterday at 2:37 AM
C
NFL News (Vikings)
Latest: camper
Sunday at 6:56 PM
Wood Planer?
Latest: risingsun
Sunday at 1:51 PM
N
Model 12 Winchester
Latest: NodakBob
Sunday at 9:35 AM
F 150 Owners
Latest: 1lessdog
Sunday at 5:55 AM
The Decline of Devils Lake
Latest: Rut2much
Saturday at 10:21 AM
SnowDog
Latest: lunkerslayer
Saturday at 7:16 AM
Eat steak wear real fur
Latest: lunkerslayer
Saturday at 6:54 AM
P
Anyone see that one coming
Latest: PrairieGhost
Saturday at 6:42 AM
Rods From god YT
Latest: svnmag
Saturday at 1:36 AM
N
Heated jackets
Latest: ndrivrrat
Friday at 5:07 PM
Harwood ND AI business
Latest: Davy Crockett
Friday at 3:58 PM
Friends of NDA
Forums
Hunting
Big Game Hunting
Moose
Deer have direct role in death of Minnesota moose
Top
Bottom