By BEN NEARY
NMWF Conservation Director
ALBUQUERQUE — The people have spoken: Dr. Karl Malcolm will present May’s Wildlife Wednesday talk about his once-in-a-lifetime Shiras moose hunt in the Idaho Panhandle.
The New Mexico Wildlife Federation polled its membership through Facebook, Instagram and email recently to determine the topic of this month’s presentation. Other possible topics were having Malcolm talk about muzzleloader elk hunting in Utah or solo hunting for wild turkeys deep in the woods.
Malcolm, southwest regional wildlife ecologist with the U.S Forest Service, will give his talk about moose hunting starting at 6 p.m. Wed., May 13 via Zoom. Use this address to join the meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5335578504 Meeting ID: 533 557 8504.
Malcolm said he’s pleased with the NMWF members’ choice to have him talk about his 2017 moose bow hunt in the Idaho Panhandle. But he said either of his other two topics would have been timely as well.
Speaking about muzzleloader elk hunting in Utah might have appealed to New Mexico hunters who didn’t draw the hunting licenses they wanted this year, Malcolm said. And he said the topic of traveling far into the woods to get a turkey would appeal to hunters who are frustrated with their hunting so far this spring season and who want to make plans for how to have a better hunt next year.
While many hunters have the idea of heading out after moose on their bucket list, Malcolm said many also believe it’s unlikely they’ll ever draw a license.
“It’s always seemed like a long shot to me until I started doing a bunch of research on how to get my hands on a Shiras moose tag,” Malcolm said. He said he plans to address the license policies and procedures that control how different states in the Lower 48 issue moose tags. He said he may also talk about over-the-counter tags offered in Alaska.
The draw odds in some areas of Idaho can be pretty good, Malcolm said. The state lacks a preference point system and he said he was able to draw a tag on his third try.
Malcolm said he will address how to prepare for such a hunt, including, “scouting from afar and then getting up there, and the logistics of what and who to bring on a hunt like that.”
Malcolm said he went into his moose hunt as a complete novice who only had watched videos about how to call moose. He said he intends to address the landscape as well as moose management in the Lower 48 and issues of meat management once the animal is down.
A critical element of planning such a hunt is choosing the people to take along, Malcolm said. Moose are hefty creatures and carting their meat out of the field takes serious muscle. But brute strength isn’t all it takes to make a good hunting companion.
Malcolm said Idaho limits bull moose tags to once in a lifetime for hunters because of the high demand.
“I can never again apply for a bull moose tag in Idaho for the rest of my days,” Malcolm said. “So I think surround yourself with people who first and foremost are going to be enjoyable companions for a trip like that, because you don’t want to have it go off the rails for some sort of interpersonal strife reasons. And all of us probably have experiences being in the field with people who were not necessarily the greatest company.
“So I’m pretty picky with the people I want to be outdoors with to begin, and on a trip like that my pickiness would go into the next level,” Malcolm said.
Malcolm said he had three good friends on the trip, all dedicated conservationists and experienced woodsmen. Each of them was able to size up new country and locate good hunting areas. It was important to have four sets of eyes on the country, rather than trying to evaluate all of the possible terrain himself, he said.
“Having four of us to be able to haul meat was a big deal, so physicality is a piece of it,” Malcolm said of the team that went on his trip. “But on a trip like that I would much rather have somebody with a great attitude and not deadlift 500 pounds, than somebody who’s a total beast but not necessarily great company. So it’s having the right criteria then having some people that fit the mold. You want a hunt like that to be memorable for the right reasons and not for the wrong reasons.”
Malcolm received his Ph.D. in Wildlife Ecology in 2011 for his studies on the role of nature reserves in sustaining biodiversity in southwestern China. He completed the degree through a joint appointment with the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute.