Moose census falls victim to a depleted wallet

Sunday, May 13, 2001

COLUMN: Roberta Scruggs

If you've been wondering where the moose have gone, you'll have to keep wondering. Apparently Maine can't afford to find out.

For more than a year, people have been complaining that they're seeing fewer moose, even in areas such as Greenville and Millinocket, where moose have been plentiful.

So what's going on? Nobody knows. People have lots of theories, including herbicides, hunting pressure, disease and changes in cutting practices. And some people think that there are plenty of moose and the problem exists only in other people's heads.

But this is a serious concern and not just for hunters or wildlife watchers. Moose are big business here. Just count the souvenirs, safaris and moose-shaped snacks all over the state.

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife sensibly decided to budget $280,000 for a high-tech census over the next two years, the first major moose survey since the 1980s. Unfortunately, the department operates like a poor family living from paycheck to paycheck. Squeezing $140,000 a year out of the current budget was not an option.

"An extra $140,000?" said Rick Record, the department's chief financial officer. "No, we don't have an extra $140,000 anywhere. All available funds were needed to essentially keep doing the same activities that we're mandated to do."

About 98 percent of the department's $25 million annual budget comes from user fees, Record said, primarily fishing and hunting licenses and boat, snowmobile and ATV registrations. Voluntary contributions add a bit — $557,497 from the loon license plate last year and $46,825 from the chickadee checkoff. Even the department's $5 million in federal money comes from taxes on sporting equipment.

State tax dollars make up only about 2 percent of the department's budget, Record said, including $250,000 for search and rescue and some money to defray salary increases dictated by the state's collective bargaining agreements.

And even getting that much is always a battle, despite the many things the department does that benefit people who don't hunt, fish or use recreational vehicles.

"I had to walk through fire up to my armpits to save the $250,000 in search and rescue money," said Rep. Matt Dunlap, D-Old Town, House chair of the fish and wildlife committee.

So to pay for the moose census and few other things, the department proposed charging $5 for an any-deer permit — not a popular idea, since permits have always been free, and last year the department couldn't even give all of them away.

But when legislators rejected the $5 fee, there was no money to pay for the census. Maybe there will be next year, Dunlap said, when legislators consider a "comprehensive fee increase," perhaps charging more for fishing and hunting licenses.

"We're not saying we're never going to do a moose census," he said. "We're going to do it next year instead of this year. Absolutely. I'd almost guarantee it."

And, as Popeye's buddy Wimpy might say, I will pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today. Absolutely. I'd almost guarantee it.

In the meantime, the department is scrambling to pay for the pilot study that was intended to pave the way for the moose census. The results won't be in for about a month, but the department owes a Florida company $50,000 for conducting an aerial, infra-red survey of the Greenville area.

Mark Stadler, who heads the wildlife division, says Safari Club International donated $5,000 for the pilot study and the division's mammal group squeezed $10,000 from its budget. He's still "scratching" for the rest.

So maybe Maine's moose lovers should hold a bake sale, raffle off a car battery or put collection cans in convenience stores around the state.

Moose may be big business, but nobody is willing to invest in them this year

Roberta Scruggs , outdoors writer, can be contacted at 791-6452 or at:

rscruggs@pressherald.com

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