Minnesota moose population holds steady despite warming winters, other threats

Minnesota’s once-beleaguered moose population continues to hold steady at nearly 4,500 animals, according to the most recent population survey released this week by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

After peaking at around 8,800 moose in 2006, the animal’s population in the northeastern part of the state crashed to an estimated low of about 2,800 animals in 2013.

But since then, Minnesota’s moose population appears to have leveled off.

“We can say with reasonable confidence the moose population in northeast Minnesota declined steeply between 2009 and 2013 and has since more or less stabilized at around 3,700-3,800 moose,” the agency said in its report, which was conducted with the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and the 1854 Treaty Authority.

But while recent estimates suggest that the population has stabilized and moose are successfully reproducing, researchers still stress that the state’s moose remain at risk because of a range of factors, including climate change, habitat loss, parasites and the impacts of bear and wolf predation on moose calves.

Moose have been especially impacted by warming winters. Daily average minimum temperatures during the winter months have increased by more than seven degrees in northern Minnesota.

“For moose, that means those winter ticks that would normally die off in cold weather are not dying off,” said Seth Goreham, wildlife research manager for the Minnesota DNR. “They continue to be parasitic and suck blood and nutrients off these moose throughout the winter, which then can make them more susceptible to disease, susceptible to predation, and can impact long-term survival.”

Mike Schrage, wildlife program manager for the Fond du Lac Band, told MPR News he believes that Minnesota will continue to sustain a population of a few thousand moose into the foreseeable future. But in the longer term, moose are at risk in Minnesota because the state is the far southern end of their range.

Schrage said more needs to be invested to improve moose habitat to grow the state’s herd, to create a mix of young forest that provides food for moose, and older forest that provides cover for protection.

“We have an older forest now across most of moose range, and that's good for some animals, but it's not so good from a moose standpoint,” Schrage said.

Over the past 15 years, a collaborative of more than 10 nonprofit, tribal, government and academic partners called the Minnesota Moose Habitat Collaborative has enhanced nearly 24,000 acres of moose habitat in the northeast part of the state.

The DNR also recently launched a research project with the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and the 1854 Treaty Authority to study young moose. Researchers captured and collared 60 juvenile moose this winter to track their activity this spring and beyond.

“To see when they first start reproducing and, also, what is leading to calf mortality?” said Goreham. “Is it disease? Is it mostly predation? What habitat are they using?”

The hope is the research will yield more information to guide land managers in developing critical habitat moose need to survive.

• Blast, at last: Minnesota’s first new iron ore mine in 50 years targets new era of steelmaking
• Bat found in downtown Minneapolis tests positive for rabies
• A Minnesota ‘lake killer’ surfaced 11 years ago. There’s still no long-term fix.
• After rough skies, monarch butterfly population on the rise