The Moose

There was a moose in Wilmington Notch on Saturday. And it stayed there, until the DEC fired a couple of rubber bullets at it to see if it would move. It did move, but then came back to the same spot, and stood there for a few more days.

People were going crazy trying to see this moose. It was right smack dab in the middle of the Notch, which is, as you might be able to tell from the name, a part of Route 86 that contains a very narrow road sandwiched between two rock cliffs and a river. It's a twisty road, too, and if you're not paying attention (or even if you are) it's easy to have an accident.

So, I know it's not like we see a moose every day up here, but this moose was in a very inconvenient place if you wanted to just stop your car and take a look. In addition to being a narrow, twisty road sandwiched between two rock cliffs and a river, it also happens to be the only road between Wilmington and Lake Placid. It's not like it can be closed without having to re-route traffic an extra 20 miles or so.

On my way into Lake Placid this morning, there were DOZENS of cars parked along both sides of the road, making the road even narrower. Worse yet, people were acting like idiots and bolting across the street right in front of the oncoming traffic because they wanted to get a look at the moose. There were license plates from all over - tourists, most of them, who wanted to get a glimpse of the moose.

According to the New York State police, there was at least one car accident when someone made an illegal u-turn in the middle of said narrow, twisty road because they wanted to get a look at the moose.

For real, people? Yes, I know that Route 86 through Wilmington Notch seems like a remote, pleasant, country road. But in reality, it's a main road. The only way for people to get back and forth between Wilmington and Lake Placid without driving 20 miles out of their way through Keene Valley, and that's how commuters (like my husband, who very nearly hit someone who ran out in front of his car yesterday because they wanted to get a look at the moose) get to and from their jobs. It's how delivery vehicles bring things to the hotels and shops in Lake Placid.

It's a really freaking busy road. Even if it's sandwiched between two rock cliffs and a river.

Finally, the DEC and the Environmental Conservation Police killed the moose, stating that it had seriously injured its back legs, and removed it from the river.

Now, people are up in arms. They're planning a protest in the middle of the Notch this Saturday against the actions of the DEC.

I don't know what has me more angry: the protest or the stupid people that caused the death of the moose.

If, indeed, the moose was not injured or sick, then the DEC was wrong to kill it and remove it. But in my mind, those idiot people who blocked the road and darted out in front of cars are the ones who *really* caused that moose to be killed. THEY are the ones responsible for the death of the moose.

I'm so incensed about the stupidity. Why can't we just learn to leave nature the hell alone?