Moose plays through at Clarkston golf course

Washington wildlife officials are hoping a cow moose that has been seen on the outskirts of Clarkston over the past few weeks will quietly slip away from populated areas and return to the wild.

The moose caused a small stir Sunday morning at Clarkston Country Club, where it was seen grazing on fall foliage along its driving range.

"She seemed fairly comfortable and fairly content eating all of the leaves off of the cherry trees she could walk to," said Steve Judy, assistant superintendent at the golf course along U.S. Highway 12 and the Snake River on the west side of town.

Judy took pictures of the massive animal and watched as she eventually stepped over a fence, crossed the highway and swam toward the north shore of the river. Before leaving, she trotted across the 15th green, causing minor damage.

"Nothing major, I just had to fix some hoof marks on the green," Judy said.

Officer Matt Sabo of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife at Clarkston has been keeping tabs on the moose and trying to convince it to go back from where it came. On Friday it was spotted in the Clarkston Heights. A few weeks ago it was hanging out around Wilson Banner Ranch.

Sabo has tried to haze the animal westward with a paintball gun toward the Blue Mountains.

"She didn't like that idea," he said. "She likes all the green in town."

He doesn't know where the moose came from but Sabo speculated it might have followed Alpowa Creek or another stream out of the Blues and into town. It's also possible it dropped down to Clarkston from the Palouse.

The department's strategy is to monitor the moose and hope it exits on her own. However, if it moves into the heart of the town's urban areas, where there are threats like automobile traffic, people, yapping dogs and fences, it's likely the animal will need to be darted with a tranquilizer and trucked to the backcountry.

"I think at this point if she does pop back up and it's in the middle of Clarkston, that is probably what is going to happen," said Sabo. "We've hazed her twice with paintball guns and she is not showing any signs of wanting to leave the area."

---

Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2273. Follow him on Twitter @ezebarker.