Helping moose NOW- its easy!

[willphish4food]

Helping moose NOW- what you can do.

It seems like all the discussions about predator control, habitat management, shoot cows, don't shoot cows, spike/50, all come down to one thing: we as hunters would like more moose available for us to shoot! But how do we individually do that?

There are 4 snowcats sitting unused in Willow right now, with a man ready to volunteer his time running one, but he needs diesel. He puts down trails to good browse to draw moose away from the easy running on railroad tracks and highways. He's been doing this several years, with very good results. But he needs your help!

This is not Moose Federation, though he's actively worked with them. The amount I heard that is needed is $1,000, but every gallon helps- so $4.25 gets a couple miles of trail. PM me for more information- I'll let you know who it is.

Bottom line- every moose saved from the roads and railroads is one thats there to breed or be bred, and possibly end up in your freezer come hunting season.

I was just asked to help last night, so any ideas are appreciated. Donations of cash help immediately, but silent auction donations can also be useful; I don't have access to a gaming permit, so if anyone else on this forum does, that would be great for setting up a donation auction.

[Gerberman]

What if you set up an account with a local fuel service, people could call up and give them a credit card number for any amount of fuel, this would make sure that the money was going to fuel for the project. That way any amount would help, it would soon add up to enough to keep the project going, you would just have to get the word out to the public for the donations. A letter to a few newspapers down south might result in a lot of fuel for the project. Just an Ideas for now,

[sockeye1]

I drive from Wasilla to Talkeetna every day and I can assure you that this is a VERY worthy cause. The moose have been getting hammered the last several weeks. To give you an idea, I routinely see 3-5 roadkills a week and that doesn't include the ones that are taken care of without my knowledge. Since January, which is when I really notice the moose moving down to the roads/railroads, that is an estimated 30-50 moose dead just from cars (I imagine the train does a number on them too). Any project that seeks to draw them away from the roads is a good one in my book.

[BRWNBR]

i'm killin' bears to make more moose. so someone had better do something on the other end to help those moose after they've gone thru all the work of getting away from the bears.

[pike_palace]

Gotta keep em off the roads. Saw a calf moose hit yesterday right next to the gas line parking lot in Pt. Mac. Saw another huge blood streak on KGB.

[willphish4food]

Thanks for the responses. The number is (907) 495-6479, Newman's Hilltop Tesoro. If anyone would like to donate, just call them with the amount and credit card number, and they'll put it into the Moose Federation's fuel account, which the snowcat operator can then draw from.

This is a very real way to help moose numbers in road accessible areas; thanks to everyone who can pitch in!

[bushrat]

This is not Moose Federation, though he's actively worked with them.

If anyone would like to donate, just call them with the amount and credit card number, and they'll put it into the Moose Federation's fuel account...

NOT saying that breaking trail for moose in these areas can't be helpful in reducing road and train collisions, but my red-flag radar goes off when you start off specifically saying it is not about giving one entity money and then saying the exact opposite later on when asking for a credit card number.

[AlaskanOutdoorsman]

You beat me to the punch Bushrat, I was just about to state the same thing. I was planning to call in a donation tomorrow but now seeing the money is going to the Moose Federation I would like to know more about this before proceeding. I'm not saying the money wouldn't be well spent but I do have to ask how can we be certain the snowcat operator will receive the full donation if the money we donate is put on the Moose Federation's account? If the snowcat operator isn't working for the Moose Federation, who is he working for or on behalf of? Are the snowcat's owned by the Moose Federation? Thanks in advance for answering our questions.

[willphish4food]

Sorry about that guys. The first information I received was that this was directly to the driver of the cats. When I called the local gas station that he fills up with, they told me they had an account for the Federation that he draws from. Its Farley Dean at Willow Island resort that does the driving. As far as I know, he owns one Cat and the federation owns several. Money's donated to the Federation's account at Newman's are available to Farley for driving the cats- it can also be specified to the person on the phone that you would like only Farley to be able to use the funds. Willow's a small town, and Newman's Tesoro is a little mom and pop shop.

Farley has a personal passion to this project, and has time to spend in the winters. He isn't even a big game guide- as far as I know he has little or no financial interest in this, just sees this as a way he can make a big impact on the moose populations.

[dkwarthog]

I posted something similar on your other thread willphish. I think Farley is an Ok guy, but this whole Moose Federation thing is a ridiculous proposition. So AMF convinces the DOT to clear a 200' Highway ROW to supposedly remove "moose browse". What have those guys been smoking? There was no moose browse from willow creek to Kash river...it is 99% black spruce and mature birch. What happens when you clear black spruce? It grows back in willows and sapling birch, that is what happens. Unbelievably stupid, IMO

While I'm ranting, why is Farley's place the only property in 15 miles that retained the trees along the highway in the ROW. What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

Again, who makes up this Moose federation? I would venture to guess 95% of their membership is from Wasilla and Anchorage. The gist of their "grow more moose" motto is "how can I kill something in someone elses backyard without having to expend any energy?" Where is the input of locals in communities they affect change in?

Sorry for the rant WillPhish, and nothing personal. There is more to this issue that is personal for me, but I will let it go...

[Marc Taylor]

Absolutely NOT and no way in HELL!

There will be pickup trucks pulling up to that account on a daily basis.

Taylor

[dkwarthog]

Farley has a personal passion to this project, and has time to spend in the winters. He isn't even a big game guide- as far as I know he has little or no financial interest in this, just sees this as a way he can make a big impact on the moose populations.

You would be WRONG!!! Personal passion, my ass... Puleeeze...