There was a lot of concern 11 years ago when Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks started a 10-year study of moose in three regions of the state. More of the largest members of the deer family were showing up dead and infected with arterial worms. There were reports of moose having scratched off much of their fur due to infestations by ticks. Moose populations seemed down and hunting tags were restricted in most areas to bulls only to protect reproductive cows. Now that the FWP study has concluded, biologist Nick DeCesare can point with confidence to data in a lengthy final report showing what’s going on in the three diverse regions – the Cabinet-Salish Mountains in northwestern Montana; the Rocky Mountain Front; and the Big Hole Valley in southwestern Montana. Here’s the big takeaway, moose numbers in the three regions are stable to increasing. The biggest killer in the three regions remains parasites like the arterial worms, especially in the Big Hole Valley. Important to all of the areas is the quality of the animals’ food, which seems to be best along the Rocky Mountain Front. There is a ton of other information in the study, including the affect of predators (fairly low for the most part) and concerns about the potential for less snow in the spring.
To learn more, check out my story at https://billingsgazette.com/outdoors/fish-wildlife–parks-moose-rocky-mountain-front-cabinet-salish-big-hole-valley-nick-decesare/article_383929f4-9ae4-11ef-a52a-3b5cf1886365.html.