Minnesota Tribes Cancel Moose Hunts
OutdoorHub Reporters 09.16.13
Minnesota’s Fond du Lac, Grand Portage, and Bois Forte bands have announced the cancellation of 2013’s limited moose hunt within their borders. According to the Duluth News Tribune, the Fond du Lac band initially planned on moving forward with their hunting season, despite the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) indefinitely closing its season on state-governed territory earlier this year. However, on Friday the band’s advisory committee decided not to strain a species already in what some call a “crisis” and formally cancelled their hunt, effectively suspending all moose hunts within the state’s borders for the season and making the Fond du Lac tribe the last band to formally do so.
As of January’s survey, there are now 2,760 moose in the state. It is a significant change from 2012’s count, which reported 4,230 animals. Biologists with the DNR say that Minnesota’s moose population has declined by at least 52 percent since 2010 and that the population was as high as 8,840 in 2006. This drastic loss has led some experts to speculate that moose in the state could be gone in 20 years.
“The state’s moose population has been in decline for years but never at the precipitous rate documented this winter,” DNR commissioner Tom Landwehr said earlier this year. “This is further and definitive evidence the population is not healthy. It reaffirms the conservation community’s need to better understand why this iconic species of the north is disappearing from our state.”
As a sign of the danger that the animals find themselves in, Minnesota recently assigned moose to its list of “species of concern,” a preliminary measure before the animals become recognized as an endangered species. Scientists are still looking into why the animals are dying off, and why the few that are seen appear malnourished and sickly, in addition to apparently suffering from hair loss. Earlier this year the state began a $1.2 million research project to capture and study 100 moose specimens.
“The approach we’re using is cutting edge,” said Wildlife Research Manager Lou Cornicelli in a statement. “As far as we know, nowhere else in the world has any project captured, collared, and tracked so many moose at one time.”
Biologists believe that shorter winters and warmer weather has led to an increase of harmful ticks and parasites. Other factors such as habitat changes and a larger wolf population are also being discussed.
As for the Fond du Lac band, Diver says that they will have to wait until next year to see when a hunt may be possible.
“Their original decision to hold a hunt was really split among the community members, and this decision was, too. But, yes, the decision is to take this year off and try to see what caused this precipitous decline,” Fond du Lac Chairwoman Karen Diver said. “We’ll review this annually as we see what direction the population is going.”
