Editor’s note: This article is by Luc Brodhead.
Every year in Vermont, a few lucky big game hunters stalk one of the state’s largest mammals. Moose hunters apply to the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife for permits in June, and the department then awards them to selected hunters through a lottery process.
There’s a reason why it’s called a lottery: 10,000 people apply and about 1,000 on average come away with passes.
Hunters that win the lottery can take one moose from a single designated area in the state. The Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife increased the total number of moose permits in 2004, in order to restore the balance of the forest ecosystem in one particular area — Essex County. About 600 moose a year, on average, were “harvested” over the last five years, according the department.
This year, the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife has decreased the number of permits issued to kill moose, of any sex and age, to 405 per year.
The moose herd in one particular region – the Northeast Kingdom – is “finally under control” and the animals are healthier, according to the department.
Moose eat tree seedlings. Pat Berry, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife, said, in Essex County, the population was outstripping the capacity of the forest to regenerate.
| Permits Issued | Moose Killed | Percent Success Rate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 1115 | 648 | 58% |
| 2007 | 1251 | 593 | 47% |
| 2008 | 1251 | 605 | 48% |
| 2009 | 1223 | 601 | 49% |
| 2010 | 765 | 488 | 64% |
“It’s important ecologically to have moose densities where the numbers match the carrying capacity of available food resources,” Berry said. “As we’re trying to support active forest management in important rural economies, it’s critical that we balance herd size with forest health.”
Moose hunting enthusiasts may worry about their chance of receiving a permit this year, but Cedric Alexander, Wildlife Biologist for the Department of Fish and Wildlife, sees the reduction as a plus.
“It’s a success story that the number is going down,” Alexander said. “Our goal is to try and stabilize and eventually reduce populations especially in the Northeast Kingdom.”
Alexander said the moose herd in Vermont exceeded expectations over the last decade, and as a result, the department was forced to drastically increase the number of permits issued beginning in 2004.
At the end of the 19th century, the state’s moose population was nearly extinct. In just 100 years, the herd rebounded to the point where damage to forest regeneration from over-grazing became an issue.
“There were some raised eyebrows from landowners,” Alexander said, in reference to owners of large wood lots in Essex County who have a stake in the health of Vermont forests and an interest stabilizing the population of moose.
Vermont issued hunting permits to remedy the problem, quickly exceeding the number of permits given out by New Hampshire. The relatively low number of permits granted by the department this year means that populations have finally begun to reach the goals set by the 10-year moose management plan drafted in 1998.
Alexander pointed out that most hunters seem to understand this reality, and he has not seen any significant backlash from the hunting community at this news.
“We hope to have the population below the carrying capacity of the habitat,” he said. “Weights and reproduction rates took time to settle, but it looks good right now. We should be able to sustain 400 or so permits in the future which is a number similar to New Hampshire.”
Anne Galloway contributed to this report.
