Grand Portage Band of Chippewa Cancels Moose Hunt

DULUTH (AP) - The Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa has canceled its moose hunt this fall.

The band announced last month that it would issue 21 permits for a bulls-only moose hunt in October on lands where it holds treaty rights.

The tribe's decision to cancel the hunt averts an arbitration process with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, which opposed the hunt because of a sharp drop in the state's moose population. Moose numbers fell 35 percent from 2012 to an estimated 2,760 in this past winter's survey.

The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa still plans to hold a moose hunt this fall. The tribe will offer its members 77 permits for a maximum of 25 bull moose.