Gary Olson of the Alaska Moose Federation wants to rescue orphaned moose calves and relocate them from the Anchorage area to parts of rural Alaska deemed short of moose.
The federation won a $50,000 state grant to do that when the governor signed the capital budget.
Gov. Frank Murkowski knew some of his staff had concerns about such an appropriation but decided against a veto, said spokesman John Manly.
"The governor felt like there was a public purpose to be served," said Manly.
Murkowski directed the money only be spent to relocate motherless moose and not for administrative expenses.
Moose have been successfully relocated but some state officials say there are major glitches this time. Campbell, the Fish and Game commissioner, laid out his concerns in a letter to Olson.
Lone young calves are rare, Campbell said. Moving a few calves to an area with a moose population depressed by winters, bad browse or predators will not result in significant increases, he and other department leaders said.
Also, the moose federation has not proven it can move calves, feed them without allowing them to bond to humans, and release them, Campbell said. The federation has to come up with a solid plan before it gets permission to move calves and use state money, he said.
Olson, 35, founded the moose federation and has been working as its nonpaid director for nearly three years, he said. It has raised less than $25,000 annually for each of the past three years, he said.
His goal is to more actively manage Anchorage moose through programs that would cut down on moose-vehicle collisions and relocate orphans and "nuisance" moose, he said.
None of these programs is established. But in 2004, Olson persuaded the Legislature to pass a law authorizing state-approved groups to tranquilize and remove "nuisance" moose from urban areas to the Bush. None have been moved to date.
Moose orphans are worth rescuing, he said.
"This resource is too precious of a renewable resource to waste," said Olson. "I don't think it's wise to point fingers and say this doesn't happen. We've probably turned down a good 20-plus calves because the program isn't ready yet."
Fish and Game officials say two to 12 calves are orphaned from vehicle accidents that kill their mothers in Anchorage every summer.
Anchorage moose are born between the last two weeks of May and the first week of June.
A state Department of Transportation report that covers the 10 years ending in 2003 shows that a little more than seven moose were killed each year during June, the time when calves would need to be rescued.
The idea of moving moose has won approval in the past.
Transplants took place from 1949 to 1959. Captured calves were moved from the Kenai Peninsula, Susitna River area, Matanuska Valley and the Anchorage area to the Copper River Delta.
Bud Burris, a retired biologist living in Fairbanks, co-wrote a Fish and Game report on transplanting animals. He said that biologists and veterinarians know much more about good care and handling of infant moose now than they did in the 1950s, such as how to avoid terminal diarrhea.
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