Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription.
Your current subscription does not provide access to this content. Please use the button below to manage your account.
JUNEAU — Is bagging the biggest moose of the season a game of chance? Akin to guessing when the ice goes out or a game of pull-tabs?
The state of Alaska says it is, and awarding prizes for a “Big Bull Moose Derby” requires a change to state law.
That’s the subject of Rep. Tammie Wilson’s House Bill 268, which would add big bull moose derbies to the state’s approved gaming activities, alongside the Nenana Ice Classic, bingo games and the Palmer Rotary Club’s cabbage classic.
“While hunting is an exercise of skill, there’s still an element of chance. You might never see anything, you might miss, whatever,” said Joe Koss, the member of the Alaska Department of Revenue’s gaming unit, to the House Resources Committee on Monday. “The proposed activity definitely comes under our purview.”
Wilson said the bill is being brought forward on behalf of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ rifle team and the Tanana Valley Sportsmen’s Association to allow the groups to hold fundraisers for their respective activities.
The idea, she said, would be for the groups to sell tickets for hunters to buy into the derby and award prizes at the end of the season.
Wilson fielded questions asking what sort of impact moose derbies might have on hunting. She pointed out that the bill would not increase the number of permits available, relying solely on the existing hunting and permitting system the state uses.
Mike Tinker, a longtime member of TVSA, spoke on the issue later.
“In 25 years of experience and all of the research I’m aware of, hunters in the field will always seek the biggest one they can find,” he said. “We’re really not promoting anything here that’s going to shift hunting numbers.”
Members of the House Resource Committee appeared to be supportive of the bill but needed to make some technical clarifications before they were ready to advance the bill out of committee.
Contact staff writer Matt Buxton at 459-7544. Follow him on Twitter: @FDNMpolitics.