4380 End of the Reign? - webapps8

says. "Somebody actually saw it take its
last gasp.
"Its obvious the moose haven't disappeared
from here, though," he says as he
walks through one of his so-called moose
pastures in the Pat Bayle State Forest, just
off the Gunflint Trail. I tag along, wading
through brush and stepping over the 21st
pile of moose droppings I've counted in
the past half-hour.
What Ingebrigtsen calls a moose pasture
is actually a 10-acre forest opening of
hazel, dogwood, aspen, birch, and willow
saplings. He has used some of his wildlife
management budget to shear this shrubby
browsing area, strategically located near a
shady stand of balsam firs beside a meandering,
marshy stream.
"Moose are big and dark, you know. They
need places to cool off near where they
eat," he says. I nod in agreement, myself a
sweltering 220-pound man in a black fleece
sweater on this 65-degree spring day
Ingebrigtsen manages a dozen moose
pastures, and he is trying to put more conifer
trees on the landscape around Grand
Marais—by planting conifer stands and by
encouraging local foresters to do the same.
But he acknowledges his habitat management
efforts affect just a small portion of
the millions of acres of moose range in
northeastern Minnesota.
A six-year research study of radio-collared
moose has confirmed fears of a declining
herd in this range. And while the
immediate causes of moose deaths are
varied and debatable, the ultimate suspect
is climate change—and habitat that
provides thermal cover may be the key
to making a warmer Minnesota more
hospitable to moose.
Worried Neighbors. After leaving Ingebrigtsen's
moose pasture, I drove up the Gunflint Trail
to canvass some locals about moose sightings.
There are no "Moose Crossing" signs
along the 60-mile wilderness road from
Grand Marais to Lake Saganaga, because
the signs are stolen as soon as they're
posted. Legal moose souvenirs can be
purchased from the gift store at Voyageur
Canoe Outfitters at the end of the trail.
Owners Mike and Sue Prom say anything
Alces alces is a sure bestseller.
"We've tried selling T-shirts with bears
or loons, but the moose items always sell
out," says Mike Prom.
The Proms, as well as many of their neighbors,
say they see several white-tailed deer
but only one or two moose in their travels
along the trail, whereas a few years ago they
could see as many as 20 moose—and maybe
only a whitetail or two—on a trip to Grand
Marais.
"Since we've lived here, I've never gone
a week without seeing a moose," says Sue
Prom. "It'll be a sad day if I can't see one."
Stepping into the lobby of the Gunflint
Pines Resort and Campground to visit
with owner Bob Baker, I have to watch
my step so as not to topple a pile of moose
shed antlers. Moose sheds lay in stacks on
the floor and hang on every wall.
This past winter Baker found 18 moose
racks, but the locally renowned shed hunter
says he must hunt longer to find moose
sheds these days. And he's also finding
dead moose during his searches.
"I've found some dead and frozen, with
all their hair and completely intact. It's like
they were bedded down and sleeping and
just died that way," he says. "It's strange. I've
never seen that before."
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MINNESOTA CONSERVATION VOLUNTEER