Single Page
Why is Alaska spending millions on orphaned moose?A mandala is a geometric design, often circular, used to focus meditation on the mysteries of the universe. A moose is a large, herbivorous mammal whose meat is highly prized by hunters. A moose mandala that combines the two is useful for meditating on the mysteries of a universe full of moose. A moose mandala is prominently featured on the website of the Alaska Moose Federation and has always been a persuasive tool in executive director Gary Olson's bag of tricks. I suspect Olson has a moose mandala on his coffee mug. He and others in the federation regard moose with the reverence Hindus accord their sacred cows, practitioners of the two groups parting company only when it's time to eat. Imagine the warm glow Olson feels as he contemplates the expanding universe of moose on a mug full of coffee. He uses the mandala for more pragmatic purposes too, including raising donations for his organization. Origin of the designState and federal wildlife biologists created several versions of the moose mandala, aka "moose circle," in the late 1990s. By all accounts, Bob Stephenson, with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, conceived the idea and used an early version in meetings that discussed the Yukon Flats Moose Management Plan. The final design appears to have been developed by a federal refuge manager in western Alaska, but it has been widely used in rural areas by federal and state wildlife managers to persuade hunters not to shoot cow moose. State wildlife biologist Roger Seavoy of Bethel had the idea of putting the design on coffee mugs. The diagram shows a cow moose in the center of a series of concentric circles -- representing years -- with her potential progeny. Her female calves' progeny are connected by dotted lines. The diagram assumes a 3-year-old cow gives birth to a single calf the first year and twins the next. After that, the cow gives birth to a single calf two years in a row, followed by a year with twins, and so on. Half of the calves are bulls and half are cows. All of these are reasonable assumptions upon which to build a model. It isn't clear how each calf's sex was selected, randomly or to better hammer home the point. More on that later. The federation website figures that, in addition to the 19 calves a cow could give birth to in 14 years, her calves could produce an additional 184 calves during the same period, for a total of 203 moose. Actually, the diagram shows a cow and her progeny producing 214 calves, not 203 calves, in 14 years. That's just one of many "facts," as Olson likes to call them, you shouldn't believe on the federation website. Another is that he and Tyonek Native Corp. CEO Tom Harris saved "Sarah" the moose calf in 2007, only to have it die in the custody of the Alaska Zoo and Fish and Game. According to its necropsy report, the calf died because Olson and Harris allowed the animal to suckle too much formula in one feeding session, a common mistake for amateurs. But Olson never corrected his initial, bogus press release. Doing so would have contradicted his self-styled reputation as a moose savior. A scientist might call Olson's mandala a model. Models, like mandalas, are intended to symbolize some aspect of the cosmos. Neither mandalas nor models should be confused with reality. World with no predators?The moose mandala illustrates a world with no predators. No disease. No starvation. No fatal accidents, such as falling through the ice. No genetic flaws. No crippling mineral deficiencies. No infertility. No lack of bulls to breed all receptive cows. No severe winters when fetuses are reabsorbed. Call it a perfect world for moose. Because, as you may have noticed, none of the moose in the diagram die. They just keep pumping out more calves. Saving calves is a total boondoggle. The $1.4 mil should be used for predator control in places that possess habitat that will support more moose. "Don Young, the Fairbanks-area management biologist with Fish and Game, has done a remarkable job of increasing moose numbers in the Interior Unit 20A by reducing predator populations" Rick Sinnott. Alaska Dispatch, November 4, 2011 "Predator control is seldom warranted ecologically, and is more usually politically driven." Rick Sinnott, Alaska Dispatch, September 9, 2011 So which is it? I waded through this lengthy diatribe looking carefully for data on survival of rescued moose calves released into the wild and the cost effectiveness of rescue programs. Didn't find any. Zip, zilch, nada, nothing. I admit that this moose rescue effort appears to be a boondoggle but that doesn't mean that nothing can be done about moose. Shouldn't we at least wait until we see some data before we go back to doing nothing but flapping our gums incessantly about the futility of active fish and wildlife management in Alaska? The Alaska Department of Fish and Game, on both the fish and game sides has been infiltrated by a bunch of crypto-greenies who don't believe in scientific fish and wildlife management. Chanting Let Mother Nature Take Her Course, they worship at the feet of the graven image of Aldo Leopold, a philosopher who has done more to hinder fish and wildlife management than anyone in recent history. Leopold's religion has been inculcated into the minds of countless impressionable young students by professor/priests in fish and wildlife departments around the country. Those students have gone on to become wildlife professionals whose only contribution seems to be doing endless research to document precisely how ineffective ADF&G has been in managing the fish and wildlife populations Alaskans depend upon, except for grizzly bears of course. ADF&G does a great job with grizzly bears. Leopoldians don't want to tamper with nature, that would disturb the wah, they just bask in the radiant glow of a universe in balance. Well guess what, if you guys don't want to do anything, I have a proposal for how we can save a whole lot more from the state budget than the $1.4 million Rick rails about above. Let's retire all of the crypto-greenies. We'll save a bundle. This article is written by one bitter person. Some sedatives might be helpful. I would encourage other commenters to move beyond whatever dislike or feelings they have for the author of this article, and pay attention to the facts. As far as the mandala graphic, we were having major problems in the Ft Yukon area with local residents illegally taking cow moose. That population was already hurting, the continued taking of cows was making it much worse. So some of us involved in wildlife mgmt issues, and ADFG, were looking at ways to educate the locals as to the importance of cows to replenish the herd, and an education campaign was started that also encouraged people to turn in those who did take cows illegally. The education campaign included this mandala, I think Bob and Craig drafted it, and it was designed specifically to have a larger punch - in terms of making the point that taking cows in low-density populations prevents the recruitment needed to grow the herd - than what is reality. Hence that 9 of 11 calves born from the first cow are also cows, etc. In order to have a larger impact in the minds of people it was necessary to skew reality. But AMF has been using this mandala and selling it as reality. And unfortunately that is being backed up by ADFG at the leadership level via Director Rossi, as is this program which no biologist or manager I know would ever support. Because there is no efficacy! We know that you can't release orphaned moose calves into an area with wolves and bears, deep snow winters, and expect the majority of them to make it through their first winter all on their own. AMF says they released 7 calves in late July, and in mid August they report a 100% survival rate, 7 of 7 calves alive. Well that's certainly good news, but it's entirely misleading. We won't really know until spring what happened and how many survived. I hope most of the calves are collared as per the grant application to test efficacy of this program. So how many moose calves relocated into other areas need to survive before we say that the 1.4 million (plus more is on the way) was actually worth it? That's the real question everyone should ask themselves, avoid the emotional reaction to cute cuddly moose calf pictures and the false notion that even four or five moose calves that do survive annually are going to really make a difference in growing other moose herds...ignore the messenger of criticism and ask if it is all really worth it. I sure don't think it is. Not even if all 7 of the calves they released in July make it to next May. And they won't. Rick A Long time ago a old friend now in his 90's told me when you think you know it all your in big trouble! The initial state funding for the moose program just was awarded. The summer 2011 program was kept small which was appropriate for a start-up funded only by donations and volunteers up till now. Starting small with just a handful of moose helped show that indeed there is hope for rescuing orphaned moose. The released calves had radio collars and were doing well as of last contact... but we will learn more with time as with anything. Next year the program will likely expand its scope now that there is state funding and another summer of experience. My understanding is that the moose program is planning to do much more than just save a hand full of cute babies. With community support the Moose Federation seems to be about how we can help repopulate over hunted rural areas, keep moose away from busy roads and avoid costly collisions. No matter what the ration of males/females are used in the projections it sounds like the state will benefit beyond just saving a few baby moose. The program should benefit drivers, insurance companies, moose, tourists, hunters, rural communities and probably others somehow. It's hard to see how this program won't be some benefit to us all in the long run. Wake up and enjoy life ! Be Happy rather than dismissing a program over some statistical assumptions recognize that Gary Olson and the supporters of AMF have good intentions and a real opportunity to make a positive impact. I thank God Moose Federation is doing good for the Moose and the state. Change is good and I support this effort fully. Let nature take it's course Such animosity and bitterness. Most of us can do simple math, 1.4 million is not millions. Sinnott was pro bear and anti people when he worked for ADF&G and still is. Sinnott did a lot of damage that will Anchorage decades to undo. A lifeboat of truth floating on a sea of mendacity. The sad thing is that I know the facts surrounding both the mandala and the moose calf rescue, and these facts are blatantly incorrect. The author knows they are incorrect, so what are the reasons to spread misinformation regarding such a critical effort? The mandala was designed by Craig Fleener, and it is a graphic representation of the value of our wildlife - and it is accurate as far as it goes. Also - the facts show on record that the calf died after being in the care of ADF&G and that the individuals named did not feed the moose at all, and there are witnesses and independent verifications of this fact. After Sinnot took control of the calf it deteriorated rapidly and then was put down - someone had an agenda and they used the calf to help them get there. The management of our game has to change, and one of the best things about this administration is that they realize it. Our moose populations are at the lowest on record, and we can thank the author and his friends for killing them off. Also - this years program was not paid for with millions of state dollars - it was paid for by private donations and completely under the control of the ADF&G. And this time it worked! Moose as a whole are worth millions, and we need to take care of them. Now that the author is no longer in charge - they have a chance! Go moose, go moose federation, and go Alaska!!!! Calves are snack food for predators and only have a survival rate of a few percent. A moose is almost safe from predators from two to five years of age. But it takes a cow its entire breeding life to do a little better then break even. If there is inefficient browse and a cow may not have its first calf until the age of 3, 4 or later. When a cow does throw a calf under those conditions its more likely to be male then female. Moose come down from the mountains to survive the winter in populated areas. If the tannin levels of nonnative vegetation are too high then a cow could eat nonstop and not have enough protein to throw a healthy calf. How many cows walk away from their calves the first year they give birth? Also if the calf doesn't try to nurse in the first half hour, is it due to the calf's failure to thrive? If so, then it would be natural for the cow to walk off and abandoned the calf. Calf rescue could give ADF&G a snapshot of the genetic health of the herd, but this doesn't seem to be a priority for ADF&G. It may not be a good idea to return rescued moose to the herd. But it would be a good idea to release calves onto Tyonek reserve safe from predators so that they can reach the age of two. Then this bonus herd of rescued moose could be used for subsistence hunting. This would reduce pressure on the herd and mitigate a number of hunting issues. And a voice of sweet reason amidst the clamor he is, too. You go, Rick! If Olson's plan works out we've got nothing to fear from the zombie apocalypse. Raging hordes of moose will trample them. Us, too probably. Wow - I can't believe you live in Alaska. Moose are a critical resource and a integral part of our economy, and it is dying from bad management at the hands of this former biologist and his colleagues. We need the state to take control before we have no wildlife and change the way we manage. We are one of the only places that has such bad management and the dying off of our wildlife proves that it does not work. Check the facts. |
Comments