Residents of Lansford, North Dakota have a rather unusual complaint: there are too many moose in their town. This week, annoyed townsfolk gathered at a North Dakota Game and Fish Department (NDGFD) District 2 Advisory Board meeting to air their grievance about the large ungulates taking over the region.
“There’s way too many moose. They are in our yards and my wife can’t walk on the roads,” said one attendee, a longtime resident of the town nestled close to the Canadian border. Other attendees proposed giving preference for moose tags to local hunters; however, moose tags are a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in North Dakota and, while coveted by hunters, difficult to draw, according to The Bemidji Pioneer.
It would also create an unfair advantage for favored applicants.
Lansford isn’t unique in its moose over abundance. Across the state, moose populations are on the rise.
“Moose are fantastically prolific animals. Moose in North Dakota do very well,” said Casey Anderson, assistant chief of NDGFD’s wildlife division. “From what we are seeing we’ll probably have more tags next year.”
Also new for next year? Hopefully a speedier lottery process.
“We are looking at a change in our lottery system to cut down on the time it takes to process applications. We are proposing that all lottery participants do so online. That will allow us to get the results out much quicker,” said NDGFD Deputy Director Scott Peterson.