Something to think about.

[gcreek]

I don't know where this originated but it agrees with my thoughts. Are the "facts" written about the Kootenays true?

The Swede's kill around 100,000 moose every year on a land base less than 1/2 the size of BC. Main reason are a lack of predators and no FN's to deal with. Unregulated FN hunting has a large impact on ungulates, especially moose in rural BC, however the government is not about to change that any time soon, study or not.. In the Kootenays, Grizzly Bears and Black Bears take a high percentage of Moose calves, elk calves and fawns. Cougars are plentiful and last year we hunted and killed 210 cougars in the Kootenays, that equates to 13,000 ungulates no matter how you count, just from the Kootenays. Throw in ever increasing grey wolf numbers and we are on the cusp of predator pit conditions. Legal Hunters may harvest a reasonable 7% of any deer species annually.. that is not the harvest level now, due to declining deer numbers, moose numbers and elk numbers. We have cougars and wolves on the outskirts of every town in the Kootenays, hence high deer and now elk numbers in town, where it is safer. We presently have a big radio collared tom cougar on King street, killing Mule deer as they cross the rail road, three blocks from down town Cranbrook. Kootenay National Park introduced wolves in 1981, ungulates in the park are almost non existent to-day as compared to numbers prior to wolves being released there.. Some hunting regulation need tweaking, access closures all need to be reviewed, they are not working., we need access to kill predators, packing out the edible portions of Black bears also comes to mind, there is no edible portions of black bears according to the Ministry of Health. We need to regulate FN, kill more predators, especially wolves, cougars and bears, and keep these predator numbers well below carrying capacity. That is or should be the findings of 22 biologists after the four year study.

[two-feet]

Maybe Sweden has a large moose population because they grow willow for biomass and this makes good eats for them? Obviously lack of preds and FN helps but the capacity of the habitat is always the first factor to consider. And opening up access so we can hunt preds will have the opposite effect, giving the preds better access to the animals you are trying to protect. And many biologists already agree that hunting wolves will have little to no consequence in the larger scheme, for any serious reduction in the wolf population you need a campaign of poison and/or shooting from helicopters, and this campaign must be sustained perpetually or else the wolves will bounce back within 3-4 years.

[steel_ram]

I don't want BC to become a moose farm. We do have human issues we need to deal with but I prefer our present wildlife diversity.

[Darksith]

I wonder what the stats are for Newfoundland...

[yama49]

I wonder what the stats are for Newfoundland...

Sometimes you have to look elsewhere to find out what works, might not work here, but it might.. Don't be so narrow minded

[sawmill]

I wonder what the stats are for Newfoundland...

150,000 in 2007 with 6000 to 7000 taken every year.All from 4 that were introduced in 1900. So they say.

[two-feet]

I don't want BC to become a moose farm. We do have human issues we need to deal with but I prefer our present wildlife diversity.

I agree. A healthy, functioning ecosystem has predators.

[skibum]

I agree. A healthy, functioning ecosystem has predators.

Ya Me as the dominate predator.

An "ecosystem" is not some perfectly functioning system that is in balance. It is always in flux, and if one species is eliminated, adjustment to the "ecosystem are made. Humans are part of that ecosystem (which some refuse to admit) and we can eliminate or control the population of our competition

[panhead]

Tanx Gcreek ... Tink I'll get a plane ticket over dere vit Lana dis year. Maybe meet Lars over dere too ...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Redneck is hunting in Arkansas and shoots and kills a deer. Upon closer examination he realizes that it was a cow.
Going up to the nearest farmhouse, he explains the mistake he has made to the farmer.
"My God!" the farmer says, "You done kilt my favorite heifer. She had a pussy just like a woman's!"
"Don't worry," the Redneck says, "I'll give you my wife. She has a pussy like a cow's."

[adriaticum]

From what I hear NF moose management is exemplary.