AUGUSTA – Fearing Maine’s moose population may be on the decline, state wildlife biologists are recommending the number of permits be reduced for the first time in the hunt’s 21-year history.

At a Thursday meeting of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s advisory council, wildlife managers introduced a proposal for the 2003 moose hunting season that would decrease the number of moose permits from 3,000 to about 2,500 – a 17 percent drop.

The number of moose permits issued annually has been gradually increasing since the hunt started with 700 permits in 1980.

The annual moose kill has paralleled the permit increases, with about 2,500 moose killed annually by hunters during the past three years.

While biologists don’t believe hunting is a major factor in the moose population decline, they recognize hunting as the one factor that can easily be adjusted, said Ken Elowe, who serves as director for the department’s Bureau of Resource Management.

Wildlife biologist Karen Morris suspects that the drop in moose population is related to high levels of calf mortality, a problem that has been studied in New Hampshire.

A statewide reduction in the sort of ideal moose habitat that is created by clear-cutting likely plays a role, as does a recent weather-related boom in the population of winter ticks, she said. Ticks weaken moose by feeding on their blood and making them more susceptible to other dangers.

Biologists estimate that Maine’s total moose population is about 29,000 animals. Precise numbers on population change are not available, but annual surveys of the number of moose seen per hour by hunters in the Maine woods indicate that the number is probably declining, Morris said.

Further research into moose population is planned for the next year, she said.

“We don’t have a good handle on it right now, [so] we’re doing what we can to relieve pressure on the population,” said Mark Stadler, director of the Wildlife Division.

The reduction in hunting opportunity for 2003 would be targeted at regions in the north, west and Down East, which members of a citizen task force identified as areas where they would like to see the moose population boosted to improve both moose watching and hunting.

Along with the net reduction in moose permits, Stadler also proposed splitting the 2003 permits into two types: just over 2000 bull permits and about 500 antlerless moose permits. This year, hunters either received an antlerless permit, or one that allowed them to shoot a moose of any age and sex.

Under the new plan, “any-moose permits” would not be granted next year. Biologists hope the shift would decrease the number of female moose killed, thus increasing the number of calves produced.

Members of the advisory commission responded positively to the suggestions Thursday, but raised concerns about how the hunting public would respond.

This fall, only 3.5 percent of the 84,000 people who applied received a permit in the highly competitive annual lottery. Next year, each hunter’s chance of being selected would be even lower.

When informed of the proposal following Thursday’s meeting, George Smith, of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine questioned the department’s figures, suggesting that precedent-setting policy should be made on the basis of scientific population research, not anecdotal information.

“For an animal that’s so important to our economy as moose, the department’s effort to count the population is woefully inadequate,” Smith said. “They’ve got to put some money out and do a credible count.”

The proposed changes to the moose season will be published in the next few weeks, and a public comment period will begin immediately thereafter. No decision has been made on whether a public hearing will be scheduled.