One thousand moose hunters and their designated subpermittees take the trail of North America’s largest big-game animal Monday morning as Maine’s one-week moose season opens.

Either the permit holder or the subpermittee is allowed to shoot a moose, but not both.

Conditions are ideal for the 11th annual hunt that includes six zones in eastern, northern, central, and western portions of the state.

When the moose hunt began with an experimental season in 1980, it was restricted to the northern zone. That year, 700 permitted resident hunters – their names were drawn from 36,636 applicants – tagged 636 moose.

The success of the 1980 moose season resulted in Maine legislators passing a law providing for an annual one-week hunt beginning in 1982. There was no moose hunt in 1981. The new law also raised the number of permits to 1,000, 100 of which would be issued to non-resident hunters. The total number of moose-permit applications received in 1982 was 60,150. That year, 883 moose were tagged.

In 1983, opponents to the moose-hunt law collected enough signatures to bring it to a referendum vote. The attempt to repeal the law was defeated, however, as 60 percent of the voters supported continuation of the hunt.

As moose populations continued to rise and interest in hunting the trophy animals increased, it became obvious that the moose-hunt area needed to be enlarged. Accordingly, the eastern, central, and western zones were established in 1986. Since then, annual hunter success has been high (75-95 percent) and interest continues to increase.

Last year, the 1,000 permits drawn from 83,128 applicants resulted in hunters tagging a record 959 moose despite rains that produced less-than-ideal hunting conditions. This year, moose-permit applications reached a record high of 88,367 – 69,237 resident, 19,130 non-resident.

In regard to records, the heaviest moose registered since the annual hunt began was a 1,330-pound (dressed weight) bull. The massive animal was shot during the 1982 season by Sterling Waterman of Gray, who was hunting in the Masardis area. In 1987, Andre Brochu of Stratton tagged a trophy bull while hunting in Coplin Plantation. The tip-to-tip width of the moose’s antlers took up 69 1/2 inches of the measuring tape.

Hunter success has not affected Maine’s moose population, which now is approaching 30,000 animals. Moose are, in fact, becoming a menace on roads and highways, particularly in the Jackman area. This year, four people have been killed statewide as the result of moose-vehicle collisions.

Not surprisingly, the burgeoning moose population has resulted in suggestions to increase the number of moose-hunting permits. Most hunters and many wildlife biologists maintain that increasing the number of permits would not adversely affect populations of the majestic creatures that roam bogs and clearcuts. Increasing the number of moose-hunting permits, however, would require legislative approval. With that in mind, bills were submitted to the 1988 and 1989 sessions of the Legislature but were not passed.

The goal of wildlife biologists directing Maine’s moose-management programs is to provide healthy populations of the animals that will satisfy a diversity of recreational pursuits. Overpopulation of any wildlife species is, of course, unhealthy. Usually, the result is depletion of food supplies, degraded habitat, and eventually, death by disease and starvation. Controlled hunting, therefore, is integral to game management. Maine’s one-week moose hunt is testimony to that.

– and the fact that this state’s grand tradition of hunting is alive and well, and healthy.