Cordova and the Copper River Delta did not originally have any moose at all. This all changed in the year 1949 when, after much deliberation, Merle K. Smith flew three orphan moose calves in on his airplane. One male named Kenai survived. He was only the first moose to live on the Delta, being released near mile 14 of the highway in the spring of 1950. As time went on, the "moose milk maids" received a better formula with which to feed the calves, and the mortality rate decreased. As there were plenty of orphan calves elsewhere in the state, and Cordova still had plenty of room for them, more babies were brought in each year. When the project came to a close in 1958, 24 moose had been released onto the Delta. Of these, six males and fourteen females survived. In 1951, the first female calves were released onto the Copper River Delta. This resulted in the arrival of our first wild-born calves two years later in 1953. These were most likely sired by Kenai. The first open to hunting arrived in 1960. 25 bulls were taken that fall, but there was no season the next year. In 1962, they opened up the area from mile 7 to mile 27 and 25 more bulls were taken. Today, the population fluctuates between about 300 and 400 members. No new calves have been introduced to the area.

In the Words of Ed King: "Play fair with the moose herd here, we take some and we leave some and hopefully they will always be here!"

To help ensure this stays true, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game carefully monitors the yearly moose hunts in our area.

Native Village of Eyak wants to do their part to help ensure that the moose population is genetically healthy. They are performing a genetic study of the moose herd, so if you have any moose meat in your freezer (just 1 inch will do) please call Jenae Campbell at: (907) 424-7738. (Monday-Friday 8am-5pm)