January 4, 2012
By Tim Mowry, NewsMiner.com
FAIRBANKS — A miner in the Healy area is offering an ounce of gold for information leading to the conviction of the person who shot and left a bull moose to rot near Ferry in early September, according to Alaska State Troopers.
The moose was found by a hunter approximately six miles up Ferry Trail in Game Management Unit 20A, east of the Parks Highway.
In addition to the ounce of gold, valued at $1,600, the Alaska Fish and Wildlife Safeguard program is offering a minimum reward of $500 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the guilty party or parties.
The bull had a 45-inch antler spread, with two brow tines on one side and three on the other. It would have been legal to shoot for a hunter with an any-bull tag. However, for hunters with standard tags, only bulls with at least four brow tines on one side or antler spreads of at least 50 inches are legal game in that area.
A hunter who found the moose reported it to Alaska Wildlife Troopers in Cantwell.
Trooper Jimmy Ellison said he went to Ferry to talk to the hunter. The mine owner happened to be there and offered the ounce of gold to help catch the poacher.
“I thought that was pretty good on his part to offer that up,” the trooper said. He said the miner did not want his name released.
The offer of gold is unusual, but Ellison said residents in Ferry are fed up with what they perceive to be an increase in moose poaching in the area.
“The sad part of it is there were lots of any-bull tags up there,” Ellison said. “(The poacher) basically took meat out of a lot of people’s freezers.”
Ellison said he’s working on several other cases involving similar violations in the Ferry area.
“I’m hoping somebody will come forward,” the trooper said. “One of the worst wildlife violations a person can do is wanton waste.”
The moose was on the northwest side of the trail in a burned forest area.
Anyone with information can anonymously leave a tip at the Alaska Fish and Wildlife Safeguard hotline at 800-478-3377 or call Trooper Jim Ellison in Cantwell at 768-4050.