A lifetime of hunting in southwestern Manitoba’s Turtle Mountains has given Brad Mills a first-hand look at the area’s declining moose population.
“We archery hunt elk now in the Turtle Mountain Provincial Park, and in the last eight years I’ve only seen one or two moose in all my time spent in the bush in the provincial park,”Mills said.
So he and others in the community weren’t shocked when the provincial government announced a ban on all moose hunting in the Turtle Mountain area Oct. 19.
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“I think everybody’s kind of glad that it’s shut off, but at the same time it’s pretty sad that it’s gone to this point where there’s hardly any moose left,” he said.
Moose hunting is now banned in five areas of Manitoba: Red Deer Lake, Duck Mountain, Swan-Pelican, Porcupine Mountain and Turtle Mountain. Hunting is closed to all groups, including licensed, Métis and aboriginal hunters.
Hunting is closed only to licensed hunters in the Nopiming area, but parts of the area are completely closed to everyone, including Métis and aboriginal hunters.
Ken Rebizant, big game manager in Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship’s wildlife branch, said the department has observed drops of 50 percent or more in moose populations in different areas of the province.
He said an aerial survey of the Turtle Mountain area this February found 100 moose, down from the 250 moose found in 2008.
The province is using hunting bans and steeper penalties for illegal hunting to rebuild the moose population. People caught illegally hunting moose can now be fined with restitution payments on top of the fines given by the courts. These restitution payments start at $2,500.
Rebizant said the moose hunting bans are intended to be temporary until the population recovers.
Vince Crichton, retired manager of game, fur and problem wildlife in Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship’s wildlife and ecosystem protection branch, said unregulated moose harvesting from aboriginal and Métis groups has depleted moose populations.
Crichton agreed with the moose hunting bans but said all groups of hunters need to co-operate in a sustainable hunting model before it can be allowed again. Otherwise, the problem will be repeated
“Unfortunately in the licensed community, we’ve got a small percentage of hunters that are the bad apples,” he said.
“It’s the same in the First Nation and Métis communities. There’s a small number there that are causing the problem.”
Rob Olson, managing director of the Manitoba Wildlife Federation, said his organization is working with aboriginal and Métis groups to find a sustainable way to hunt.
“It’s time to now, I think, to wipe the slate clean, sit down around a table and figure out what we’re going to do now to help the moose and bring them back,” he said.
Ontario, Saskatchewan, Minnesota and North Dakota have also observed similar declines.
