Ontario Moose Program review!

[John Y Cannuck]

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Dear O.F.A.H. Member:
As many of you know, the Ministry of Natural Resources is undertaking a review of the Ontario Moose Program.
The review has already begun and June 30, 2008 is a critical deadline for receiving your input to the questionnaire released by the Ministry in April.
Please visit www.ofah.org for a more comprehensive description of what the review is all about; a link to the O.F.A.H. preliminary response and a link to the questionnaire and backgrounder on the M.N.R. website.
Please take the time to read the O.F.A.H. response, (which includes comments on the questionnaire) and fill out the questionnaire itself. The results of this review will dictate how the government approaches the issue of moose hunting in Ontario for the foreseeable future and you need to let them know how you as a hunter feel about the current system, what works, what doesn't work and changes you would like to see made.
We would appreciate receiving a copy of your response, which can be sent to O.F.A.H. wildlife biologist Ed Reid at ed_reid@ofah.org.
Thank you for your help in this matter.


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[John Y Cannuck]

Ontario Moose Program Review - Preliminary O.F.A.H. Response

Click here to download the O.F.A.H.'s preliminary response

You only have until June 30 to be heard in Phase One of the provincial Moose Program Review. This is your opportunity to influence Ontario's moose management and tag draw programs. In early 2009, a full-scale public consultation will begin, built in part on input provided during this phase.
In April, the Ministry of Natural Resources (M.N.R.) released an information package containing a Moose Program Review questionnaire and backgrounder (available at www.ontario.ca/moosereview, at Service Ontario offices, or by calling 1-800-667-1940). The M.N.R. is looking for public input, so it's vital that moose hunters get involved in order to be heard!
There are four components to the first phase of the moose review: Cervid Ecological Framework, Population Objectives Review, Population Management and Tag Draw System.
The long-awaited draft Cervid Ecological Framework is disappointingly vague. While it should clearly define how moose, white-tailed deer, elk and woodland caribou are managed in relation to one another, it is short on details at this stage. Another concern is how far south the caribou and moose-caribou zone extends, and the implications of that for future moose populations.
The M.N.R. has assured the O.F.A.H. that moose populations will continue to be assessed, managed, and harvest allocated at the individual W.M.U. level, which is critically important.
The second component addresses moose population targets in W.M.U.'s. The O.F.A.H. agrees a review is needed in those W.M.U.'s where numbers have been consistently above or below targets. Where the population is producing good numbers of calves and sustaining high harvest levels, it seems reasonable to revise the population objective upward. In W.M.U.'s where populations have been managed too long above the population objective, or where the objective is unrealistically high, the result can be declining calf production and/or survival. There is one thing the O.F.A.H. and M.N.R. agree on-predators limit Ontario's moose potential, especially where both grey wolves and black bears are present.
Given that in many parts of core moose range, the proportion of calves has declined in recent years, the M.N.R. is seeking input on the issue of controlling calf harvest. The O.F.A.H. acknowledges this is a concern, but in our view, the M.N.R. needs to determine, and share the real reasons for the decline, which could include increased bear and wolf predation; moose populations at or approaching carrying capacity; and/or recent warming trends. It also needs to be said, loud and clear, that licensed hunters are not "over harvesting" in Ontario! Over the last ten years, Adult Validation Tags (A.V.T.'s) issued to gun hunters were reduced by 30% and the harvest reduced by 25%. In 2007, hunters harvested fewer moose than were planned in most W.M.U.'s, and while calf harvest is high in some areas, it is not a conservation issue. (That said, calf harvest is important and extra tags could be available if calf harvests were controlled in some W.M.U.'s.)
The O.F.A.H. recently analyzed how reducing calf harvest could affect the number of A.V.T.'s available to hunters in W.M.U. 42. Currently 75% of that allowable harvest is made up of calves-the highest in the province. Because of that, only 36 A.V.T. gun tags will be issued there this year. If the calf harvest was just 30% lower, the number of A.V.T.'s available to resident hunters would be 95 instead of 36 tags. To address this, the O.F.A.H. Zone D proposes ending moose calf harvest during the deer season in W.M.U. 42, a solution that works for hunters and for conservation.
The M.N.R. seems to be leading hunters toward greater restrictions than what is required, or even beneficial. This has happened before, with the introduction of calf tags in eastern Ontario W.M.U.'s 48, 55A, 55B, and 57. The O.F.A.H. didn't agree that such severe restrictions were needed there, and sure enough, moose populations in those units rapidly surpassed targets and exceeded M.N.R. predictions. We think it's time to scrap the calf tag quota and start welcoming back the hunters in those units.
The fourth part of the review addresses the draw system for individual and group applications. This part of the consultation will carry into 2009, but make your views heard early.
The O.F.A.H. will be urging the M.N.R. to focus on improving moose research, collecting better population data, and imposing compulsory reporting of all harvest. We don't see any benefit to increasing M.N.R. management of licensed, law-abiding hunters.
Remember, June 30 is the last day to provide input to this important review process. Complete the questionnaire and help ensure the voice of Ontario's hunters is heard.

( The above content was taken from the June issue of The Angler & Hunter Hotline titled "Moose management changes on the horizon....Have your say!" )​