The Moose Health Monitoring Project was created in 2022 by the Ahtna Intertribal Resource Commission (AITRC). This project was initiated in response to concerns raised by tribal citizens in the Ahtna Region regarding changes in their subsistence foods. Traditionally, the Ahtna Athabascan people would harvest moose to sustain themselves throughout the year.
It is customary to utilize the entire moose and let nothing go to waste. This custom is still practiced today, and many of our respected Ahtna Elders and youth consume the heart, liver, kidney, stomach, intestine, etc. This highlights the importance of harnessing a deeper understanding of the health of the Ahtna Region moose population and what our people consume. The Moose Health Monitoring Project was formed to collect samples from harvested moose and run a toxicology assessment—this assessment will allow researchers to check for potentially harmful heavy metals within these samples.
Tamra Jones is an employee with the Ahtna Land & Resources Department but works closely with AITRC as a master’s student on this project. Her responsibilities include collecting moose samples (liver, kidney, muscle, incisors, and hair) in Game Management Units 11, 12, and 13 from August through September. She is also responsible for maintaining the integrity of the data, conducting the analysis, interpreting results, and relaying findings to the public.
During February of 2024, Tamra traveled to the University of Alaska Fairbanks to conduct total mercury analysis on samples collected in 2023 (94 samples in total from 32 moose) and prepare them for the Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry Machine. This analytical technique is robust, allowing for the determination of multi-elemental composition, concentration, and isotopic abundances in various matrices. The analysis will likely be conducted at Texas A&M in May of this year. This project would not be possible without the generous hunters who are willing to donate samples from their harvest.
The Ahtna people harvest and depend on this resource in their subsistence lifestyle. Monitoring the health of the moose population in the Ahtna Region is an important part of protecting subsistence, cultural, and ecological concerns.
