4380 End of the Reign? - webapps8

especially mixed stands of fir, spruce, and
cedar that he believes are a critical component
of boreal forest moose habitat.
Habitat will be a new focus for the next
phase of the moose study, which continues
this year with 34 additional radio-collared
moose, thanks to a grant from the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service. Weather gauges are
being placed in the forest around Isabella
this summer to record temperature and
humidity. The gauges will monitor whether
certain microclimates exist within the study
area, places which tend to stay cooler during
hot summer days. The resulting data could
help wildlife managers and foresters determine
which kinds of habitat provide the best
thermal cover, and then try to replicate and
expand thermal coverage for moose.
"Habitat is not the biggest problem for
moose right now, but habitat can definitely
be part of the long-term solution," says
Schrage, the Fond du Lac Band wildlife
biologist. "Looking five, 10,20 years down
the road, in the face of climate change,
wildlife managers are going to be challenged
to keep moose on the landscape.
"Some folks have already given up on
moose. I think we can keep them around.
But we'll need the best information about
mortality and habitat use. And we'll need to be
proactive in managing for moose. And we'll
need funding for all this. So most important,
we need the public to stand up and say that it
is unacceptable for moose to disappear!'
Still Moose in the Woods. Despite the relatively
recent downturn in the moose population,
Lenarz of the DNR says that Minnesota^
herd of about 8,000 moose is probably still
near the high end of where it's been for the
last century. After European setdement, he
says moose only survived in a few refuges
along the Canadian border. Population estimates
in the 1930s, though calculated by
unreliable means, wagered that 3,000 moose
lived in Minnesota; in the 1950s the population
was believed to be fewer than 500. Only
during the past 50 years, Lenarz says, have
moose expanded their range in Minnesota,
probably peaking in the late 1980s or early
1990s before the current slow decline.
Driving back down the Gunflint Trail after
visiting with lodge owners, I round a bend
and a cow moose prances out of dense balsam
firslike a mare out of the gate. She stands
in the middle of the road and regards me for
a moment. The high-noon sun highlights
the cinnamon sheen ofher spring coat Then
with a high-stepping gait, she's gone.
"Yes," I say to myself and smile. "There's
moose in these north woods yet." ®
www.mndnr.gov/magazine
See a photo gallery of Gunflint Trail moose.
WHY HUNT MOOSE
Minnesotans may wonder why
there is a hunting season on a
shrinking moose herd.Wildlife
experts say the current regulated
harvest does not hurt
the moose population.
"It's less than 5 percent of
the population, and it's only
bulls,"says DNR area wildlife
manager Tom Rusch. "There
are still plenty of bulls to
breed all cows."
Mike Schrage, Fond du
Lac Band wildlife biologist,
agrees: "We could
completely halt hunting,
and it would not affect the
outcome for moose at all."
JULY-AUGUST 2008 19