Hunters asked to help gather information

Those moose hunters fortunate enough to draw permits are anxiously awaiting the upcoming moose season, which runs from Sept. 15 to Nov. 25.

Since there is no mandatory check for moose harvests, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks biologists ask hunters to participate in three post-harvest data-gathering efforts:

. A telephone harvest survey is taken statewide between January and March from a sample of about 40 percent of all game hunters. The survey is designed to gather information about the animals harvested, areas from which they were taken and observations of the hunting district.

This is considered a very accurate source of information for future regulation and permit considerations.

. Harvest survey letters are sent from wildlife managers in each region to moose hunters, asking for specific information about the moose harvested, location of the kill, hunting district and the date.

Fish, Wildlife and Parks gets about half of these returned, according to Regional Wildlife Manager Jim Williams in Kalispell. The information would be more accurate if more were returned.

. Hunters are asked to provide a bottom jaw incisor tooth from each harvested moose. The teeth are sliced at a lab and the rings counted, much like a tree, to figure the age of animals.

Hunters may return the incisor with the whole root to local game biologists or to regional headquarters at 490 N. Meridian Road in Kalispell.