Cook County Law Enforcement received a concerned call in the early morning hours on Monday, September 26 reporting a truck and trailer in Grand Marais transporting two dead moose. There was no need for the Cook County Sheriff ’s Office to become involved; the moose were harvested as part of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa moose hunt which began on Saturday, September 26. The hunt will continue until December 31, or until 28 moose are taken. According to the Fond du Lac Band website, as of Monday, October 3, 18 bull moose had been harvested by hunters exercising their rights under the Treaty of 1854.
The Fond du Lac Band, which numbers about 4,200 members, held a lottery for permits to hunt in the 1854 ceded territory, offering 50 bull moose permits. The Fond du Lac Band requires hunters to register their moose within 24 hours of harvest. Hunters will be given 48 hours notice of the season’s closing if 25 moose are harvested before December 31.
The Band also plans to harvest an additional three bull moose for community needs.
The area open to hunting, the ceded territory, includes portions of St. Louis County and nearly all of Lake and Cook counties as well as the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. It excludes developed areas such as the towns of Silver Bay, Beaver Bay and Grand Marais.
On its website, the Fond du Lac Band explains it made the decision to reinstate the moose harvest on ceded lands “after careful consideration of biological data indicating the moose herd has stabilized in recent years at around 4,000 animals, and taking into account the traditions and cultural practices of the band.”
State of Minnesota halts moose hunt indefinitely
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) halted its state moose hunt indefinitely after the January 2013 survey showed a moose population decline of 35 percent. That survey estimated the moose population at 2,760 animals, down from 4,230 in 2012 and far below the 8,840 counted in 2006.
More recent surveys show that the estimated population has increased, to 3,450 in 2015 and 4,020 in 2016.
However, DNR wildlife officials like Steve Merchant, DNR wildlife population manager, feel a moose harvest is premature. Merchant expressed concern about any reduction in the moose population, but told the Duluth News-Tribune, “Clearly the federal court has found that they [band members] have hunting and fishing rights in the ceded territory.”
The DNR asked the Fond du Lac to reconsider, but Merchant added, “We can only object if their hunting poses a conservation or health and safety issue. We cannot make a strong case that the taking of 25 moose poses a biological concern.”
No Grand Portage announcement yet
The 1854 Treaty Authority, which manages off-reservation hunting, fishing and gathering rights for the Grand Portage and Boise Forte Bands, also cancelled moose hunts on off-reservation (ceded) lands after the 2013 population survey. The Fond du Lac Band also halted its harvest on ceded land until this year.
There has been no announcement from the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa yet on whether or not it will conduct a moose harvest outside the Grand Portage Reservation boundaries.
Public outcry to halt moose hunt
Although the Fond du Lac Band is within its treaty rights to conduct a moose hunt, several groups are appealing to the Band to stop the hunt to protect the moose. Save Minnesota Moose, a nonprofit organization formed to “enhance and assist in the research efforts of Minnesota’s leading wildlife biologists concentrating on preventing further decline and promoting calf production,” has initiated a petition on change.org asking the Fond du Lac to agree to stop hunting the moose which are “already weak and vulnerable.”
The Save Minnesota Moose Facebook page has 1,118 followers.
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