Big Game Hunters Contribute in a Big Way to 10-Year Moose Study

In what has been described as a ‘tremendous workforce,’ big game hunters in Montana contributed invaluable data to a decade-long moose study that was just recently completed. Kicking off in 2013, the results of the 10-year research project aimed at studying cow moose is giving wildlife officials and hunters alike, a lot to look forward to.

With hunter success rates being the only gauge which wildlife managers could effectively use to track moose numbers, managers began a series of aggressive cuts to moose tags as rates continued to fall. After a few harsh winters combined with increases in predation, moose tags in Montana were eventually slashed by up to 50 percent.

In an effort to better understand what was ailing Treasure State moose, researchers in this study focused on cow moose in particular across three regions which included the Cabinet and Salish Mountains, the Big Hole Valley, and the Rocky Mountain Front.

Basing their study around 193 collared cow moose, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks biologists watched their subjects closely over the ten-year period, paying close attention to key factors affecting moose survival. While researchers kept a watchful eye on predation from lions, bears and wolves, they also looked into possible diseases, the effects of weather, habitat and available forage. 

What they found was that the availability of nutritional forage was the number one factor affecting moose populations across the three study areas. Following available food, moose populations were then determined to be affected by wolf predation and parasitism by carotid arterial worms (E. schneideri). 

In the end, the study illustrated statewide estimates of between 9,871 to 11,744 moose scattered across the state of Montana, or what MFWP officials called “unprecedented for moose in Montana.”

How Hunters Helped

As with any research study, it comes with a cost and while the study illustrated that moose are, in fact, widespread across Montana, locating and monitoring their behavior can be an expensive endeavor. Looking for creative ways to help fund these types of projects, state officials turned to hunters to help fund part of the expedition by selling auctioned moose tags. The remaining balance was topped up with funds from the Pittman-Robertson fund as well as a pair of conservation grants from the good folks at Safari Club International.

In addition to putting their money where their mouth was, hunters also provided researchers with invaluable data from the field. Two years into their study, state researchers started asking Montana big game hunters to share their moose sightings by way of post-hunt phone surveys. With hunters contributing nearly 3,000 moose observations along with details from moose harvested, their observations and data became instrumental in putting the study together.