LEWISPORTE — A motorist advises that just before 5:30 p.m., a very large moose crossed the road between two vehicles on Route 210 at the lower end of Salmonier Pond toward the Burin side.
That’s a typical daily news release sent to the media from the RCMP via email regarding moose spotted near roads in the province.
It’s an effort to give motorists a heads-up to a potential hazard.
The Save Our People Action Committee (SOPAC) is also trying to prevent moose-vehicle collisions and related injuries and fatalities.
The committee has 25 members from across the province and was formed in 2009. Some of those members were in Lewisporte this month for a public meeting.
Eugene Nippard, the past-president of SOPAC and current member, facilitated the meeting and noted the disappointing turnout. He contends there are 1.7 moose per kilometre of road in the province.
“This is more than any other part of the world,” he said.
The meeting outlined the ways SOPAC is lobbying the provincial government to try to reduce the number of moose near roads.
He said one problem is that the number of licences being issued does not translate into the same number of moose being killed.
“Last year there were 28,000 licences issued and 22,000 moose killed,” he said. “We are not gaining on their population.”
The second concern was about cutting brush to improve visibility along the sides of highways for motorists.
“When I had my accident in 2002, the moose came out of the brush,” said Nippard. “I never had a chance.”
SOPAC feels the brush needs to be cut and removed, and the area grubbed off and seeded so that it becomes a grassy area. While the group is pleased that 50-60 per cent of the brush along the province’s roads has been cut, it said the recommendation to create grassy areas seems to have fallen by the wayside.
“They are cutting the brush and throwing it in the ditch,” said Nippard. “The moose are essentially being fed in the ditches. They’ve created a feeding ground for moose.
“What they are doing is just adding fuel to the fire. … We have an emergency on our hands.”
SOPAC also feels that “nuisance” moose near roads should be removed — whether by tranquilizing them and taking them to the back country, shooting them through a licencing system or other provincial controls.
“It doesn’t seem like it should be all that complicated,” said Nippard.
SOPAC is not calling for a cull of the moose population in general, but suggests a cull of nuisance moose would be beneficial if that’s what it takes to keep them off the roads.
In August, the provincial government awarded contracts worth almost $3 million for the construction and installation of two wildlife detection systems as part of its initiative to reduce the number of moose-vehicle collisions.
One contract, for $1.4 million, is for wildlife fencing on the Trans-Canada Highway west of Route 402 junction to east of Barachois Pond Provincial Park and will include fencing along Route 460 for approximately 500 metres. The section will be approximately 13.5 kilometres and will include a technique known as bouldering — placing boulders at fence termination points to deter moose from entering the fenced section of highway.
Another $1.5-million contract is for two wildlife detection systems that will use sensor technology and flashing warning lights to alert drivers when a large animal is in the highway right-of-way. One system will be installed on the Trans-Canada HIghway just east of Grand Falls-Windsor for two kilometres and another on the Trans-Canada Highway east of the Salmonier Line interchange for 1.5 kilometres.
The pilot projects are part of a series of provincial government initiatives valued at $5 million.
“$5 million is a drop in the bucket compared to our problem,” said Nippard.
The Pilot
