Spokane7
58°
January 12, 2011 in Idaho
More moose on the loose in Kootenai County
Moose have become fairly common sights roaming the fringes of North Idaho or Spokane-area communities. Local agencies say they regularly get complaints about moose munching and messing gardens and landscaping, but usually it’s best to leave the big creatures be.
(Full-size photo)
The moose wandered into a backyard near the Fernan Lake boat launch, lured by a tempting array of ornamental plants.
Both the homeowner and Kootenai County sheriff’s deputies had tried to scare it off. By the time that Idaho Fish and Game’s Phil Cooper arrived, the agitated female moose was stomping around the yard.
She kept pausing by a low spot in the mesh fence but wouldn’t jump. Cooper started cutting down the fence. When the moose charged, he ducked. About 800 pounds of ungulate sailed over him.
Incidents like last summer’s close encounter are becoming more frequent in Kootenai County, where both moose and human populations are expanding their territories, said Cooper, a wildlife education coordinator. To help reduce conflicts, Fish and Game officials want to enlist the help of hunters.
They’ve proposed selling 23 more moose permits next fall for hunting units immediately east and west of Coeur d’Alene’s urban area and in other parts of the Panhandle where moose populations are growing.
The additional permits would be offset by fewer moose permits sold for the Priest Lake Basin and Purcell Mountains, which both contain wolf packs. Fish and Game officials propose 26 fewer moose permits in those units, because of anticipated wolf predation on moose calves.
Jim Hayden, the agency’s wildlife manager, described the proposed changes as a modest “tweaking” of permit sales that would redistribute hunters to areas with the highest moose densities.
In parts of the Idaho Panhandle, moose densities range up to 1.5 moose per square mile. That’s historically high for this area, said Hayden, who will discuss the proposed changes at a 7 p.m. meeting Thursday at Fish and Game’s Coeur d’Alene office, 2885 W. Kathleen Ave.
The Fish and Game Commission will consider the changes to moose permits at its Jan. 27 meeting in Boise. Moose are trophy animals, with permits sold through a lottery system. About 40 percent of the moose harvested by hunters come from the Idaho Panhandle.
Twenty years ago, moose sightings were relatively rare in the state, Hayden said. The ungainly giants were found in isolated pockets along the St. Joe River and areas near Yellowstone Park.
Hayden said hunting restrictions have helped grow the populations of the Shiras moose subspecies found in the Inland Northwest. People who frequent the woods have a good chance of spotting one.
More troublesome, moose are also moving into suburban developments in search of food. Though the animals often appear docile, their sheer size and lack of fear make them a threat.
Each year, Fish and Game’s Coeur d’Alene office gets dozens of calls about moose.
“People seem to like the moose the first two to three days after it shows up in their yard,” said Cooper, the wildlife education coordinator. “But when the moose starts making a noticeable dent in their shrubs, they call us.”
Wildlife biologists recommend giving the moose space.
“One of the most important things is to leave them alone,” said Kevin Robinette, wildlife program manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife in Spokane, who also fields plenty of moose calls. “Moose are great wanderers. They tend to move on.”
When moose don’t move on, wildlife biologists evaluate whether they should be darted with a narcotic and moved by horse trailer to a remote location.
“It’s a conundrum,” Hayden said. “We don’t want to leave an aggressive moose in a highly populated area.”
But relocating animals that can weigh up to 1,100 pounds also involves safety risks, he said.
Miners to return to Lucky Friday 
IdahoRoper on January 14 at 9:35 a.m.
Interesting how we have expanding moose population right outside urban areas, yet severely declining moose population further outside those areas. This is the same situation we have with our elk as they are pushed out of traditional areas by wolves.
The fact that Jim Hayden and IDFG want to make people believe this is a sign of expanding populations, it is really nothing more than the surviving ones relocating to safer areas.
Perhaps if the overall moose population is doing so wonderfully, Jim Hayden can explain why they have eliminated so many tags throughout the state.
The truth is, Idahos moose population took a huge hit from wolves last year as they had a harder time catching elk during last winters light snowfall. I am not surprised in the least they have learned that the local neighborhood is now much safer than the mountains.
Rockholm66 on January 14 at 9:58 a.m.
Keeping this civil will prove to be a very difficult task. In reading this article, written by Mrs Cramer, I am once again outraged. This article, and the stack of articles before, are nothing short of propaganda. Jim Hayden, IDF&G Biologist didn’t inform you of the slaughter of the moose in Lightning Creek, Boulder Meadows, or Priest Lake did he? If this information was purged, and the intent of this article was to deflect attention from the catastrophic damage to our ungulates by wolves, it will most definitely become a lightning rod topic once again.
I filmed Mrs. Cramer in 2008, and witnessed first hand how fair and balanced her reporting is. I have been around long enough to know how to recognize a polishing job to cover up her desire to proliferate wolves in the region. This entire piece is a fabrication, plain and simple.
bruiserND on January 14 at 10:33 p.m.
Dr.Val Geist calls it “habituation” when the last of the ungulates come to town for safety with the wolves in hot pursuit. The wolves will kill what they can of the ungulates, turn to livestock & pets althewhile getting more & more used to being around people and geting used to gun shots that usually are misses. Then the wolves “try human beings ” like they did with Karen. Then the kill children because they are shorter and easier to tip over. This is how it has gone down for centuries.
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