MARQUETTE -- It almost sounds like the punchline to a joke--how does a Canadian moose travel from Algonquin Provincial Park to Marquette County?

In the 1980s, for 59 moose it was 14 miles by DNR chopper, then a 12-hour truck drive to a U.P. release.

It was funded by sportsmen dollars in the hopes of establishing a sustainable hunting population.

Twenty-three years later, the U.P. population is estimated at about 500 moose; now some say it's time for a hunting season.

The State Natural Resources Commission will convene a committee this year to begin exploring the possibility of a moose hunting season in the Upper Peninsula.

This is following a bill former Governor Jennifer Granholm signed into law late last year.  But, some have already voiced their concerns about the process.  They don't think the moose population is large enough yet.  They say a hunting season now could put the U.P. decades backward in the goal of a sustainable hunt.

"I have deep reservations about having a moose hunt now," says Brown.  "In this case, where we have declining populations all around, what I really don't want to do is push (the moose population) toward extirpation--local extinction."

Brown supports a hunt, but one that's approved based on scientific modeling.  He doesn't feel that will happen when the committee is formed.  Brown says the population needs to top 2,000-3,000, a difficult growth due to warming climate and the increase of the Whitetail deer population that carry a fatal brain worm disease.

But DNR Wildlife Biologist Brian Roell says some people are overreacting.  A possible hunt is just in the planning stages.

"This is not the DNR asking for a moose hunt," says Roell.  "A lot of folks are pointing the blame:  'Oh, the DNR want this hunt.'  We are just taking the legislation that was signed into law and exploring to see whether a moose hunt is feasible, biologically and socially."

Roell says no more than 10 tags would be sold at $100 each.  

Others don't wish to view moose as wild game at all.  If you hop in the car and drive just down the road from the Marquette County DNR, you'll find yourself at the Marquette Michigan Welcome Center...a hotspot for hundreds of tourists, and there's one question on many of their minds.

"Where can I see a moose?" says Marquette Welcome Center Manager Janet Sonaglia.

She says they'll point out to tourists where they might spot a moose, but she said, "You're not going to see them, they're just one step ahead of you."

There's an estimated 500 moose in the U.P., according to the DNR annual count.  They say they expect the number will stay about the same, but the exact count will be released shortly.