The illegal shooting of a moose found in a training area near Eielson Air Force Base is being investigated by Alaska Wildlife Troopers.
Calls received Sunday about the shooting near the Fairbanks-area base -- considered a case of wanton waste by troopers -- reported the moose was killed prior to Sunday evening, troopers wrote in a Tuesday dispatch.
"Investigation revealed someone shot the cow moose on Brigadier Road located in the Yukon Training Area behind Eielson Air Force Base," troopers wrote. "Several people reported seeing the cow moose lying on the south side of Brigadier Road."
According to a military overview, the Yukon Training Area -- part of a statewide network of training sites known as the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex -- occupies more than a quarter-million acres on the northern and eastern borders of Eielson, about 15 miles southeast of Fort Wainwright. The area hosts a variety of training facilities, ranging from trenches and observation posts to landing and drop zones.
Troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters said in an email Tuesday that hunters primarily visit the training area in search of moose, although they sometimes take caribou or black bears. She said investigators declined to identify the caliber of ammunition with which the moose was shot, citing the ongoing investigation.
"We believe it was shot within about a day of when it was reported," Peters wrote. "Nothing was salvaged from the animal by the person who shot it."
U.S. Army Alaska spokesman John Pennell said Tuesday that civilians have been able to access the training area since Sept. 1, the traditional opening of moose season on military lands available for hunting.
"For moose season, the training areas that aren't in use are accessible for anyone to hunt -- all they have to do is get a recreational access permit," Pennell said. "We open as much of the training area as we possibly can to allow Alaskans to get access in there and get their freezers filled."
Pennell said that while sections of the Yukon Training Area are still in use by soldiers this month, the Army takes precautions to ensure that training and hunting activities don't overlap.
"We are doing training, but there's nothing planned in any area open for moose hunting," Pennell said.
Troopers "have been following up on a few leads" in the moose kill, according to Peters, but are asking anyone with further information on the case to call wildlife troopers at 451-5350 or anonymously contact Alaska Wildlife Safeguard at 1-800-478-3377.
"We believe we have a really good chance of finding this person," Peters wrote.