Moose Management and Research

Publications & Reports

• Moose Management and Harvest Reports
• Moose Research Grant Reports and Publications

Management

Managing moose involves looking at predators, habitat, human harvest, other non-harvest mortality (severe winters, vehicles and trains), and the composition of populations – cows, calves and bulls – and these elements are touched upon in this section. Population density, habitat, and harvest vary from area to area, so each Game Management Unit (GMU) is presented separately in this section.

In some areas, habitat limits the potential size of moose populations, and concentration of moose and open habitat creates the potential for excessive harvests in accessible areas. In other regions it is unknown whether predators or habitat are more limiting moose populations, although some are clearly held back by bear and wolf predation. Moose mortality due to vehicles is significant in some areas where human population and vehicle traffic continues to increase. Land clearing activities associated with agriculture, development and road construction has been responsible for the increase in moose browse that attract moose to highways. The number of moose killed by trains seems to be related to snowfall and varies widely from year to year.

Without fire or other disturbance, forests mature and browse - and moose populations - decrease. Fire, mechanical manipulation, and post-logging site work, which encourage hardwood regeneration, are beneficial for moose habitat and have been conducted on some sites. Ice-scouring also helps to rejuvenate willow stands. After logging, if site preparation is not conducted or is done inadequately, blue-joint grass initially crowd out hardwood and spruce seedlings, creating less desirable moose habitat and slowing forest succession.

Currently, ADF&G has intensive management areas in Units 9D, 13, 16B, 19A, 19D-East, 20E and parts of parts of 12, 20B, 20D, and 25C, where the primary management objective is to provide high harvests of ungulates for human use.

See the status and trends section for details about management practices in specific areas.

Research

A number of moose research projects are being conducted in Alaska, looking at nutritional needs, habitat use, and predator-prey relationships. Alaska has been a leader in moose research. The Kenai Moose Research Center has captive moose and over the past three decades, hundreds of moose research projects have been conducted there. See Alaska's Kenai Moose Research Center, a World Leader in Moose Science.

• GeoSpatial Survey Operations Manual (PDF 7.3 MB)
• Moose nutrition
• Moose research in Gustavus
• Assessing moose habitat

Working for Wildlife Video

• Moose surveys on Seward Peninsula

Additional Research Projects

• Age-specific natural mortality rates of male vs. female moose
• Comparative nutritional status among 6 high-density, high-yield moose subpopulations in Interior Alaska
• Evaluation of moose-habitat relationships in Southeast Alaska
• Identification of factors affecting calf production, calf survival, and survival of female adult moose in Game Management Unit 13
• Response of moose and their predators to wolf reduction and short-term bear removal in a portion of Unit 19D East

Project Information

Identification of factors affecting calf production, calf survival, and survival of female adult moose in Game Management Unit 13

Project 1.64, Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Grant. Project Duration: July 1, 2005–June 30, 2010. Principal Investigator: Bruce Dale, Anchorage.

The state’s Board of Game has set consumptive use as the priority for moose and predator management in GMU 13. Effective monitoring of moose and study of their ecological relationships to predators and habitat are essential to that objective. The ecology of moose is complex due to the presence of multiple major predator species (bears, wolves, and humans) and multiple major prey species (moose and caribou). Furthermore, the quality of the habitat and its utilization by moose has major impacts on moose behavior and population productivity. Relatively poor calf production, calf summer survival, and decreasing survival of adult females currently limit harvest rates below objectives.

The project aims to monitor the dynamics of the GMU 13A moose population in order to provide insights into population trends. Each year we will capture and radio collar 5-10 female yearlings to serve as an annual cohort. All cohorts will be monitored through time to assess calf, yearling, and adult survivorship, productivity, and rate of population increase. We will also assess the relative importance of the population parameters impacted the rate of population increase. Multiple predator-multiple prey models will be used to assess the role of predation on population dynamics using demographic data collected from moose, wolves, bears, and caribou. We will use location data from already deployed GPS collars along with the GIS layers to assess habitat selection by moose across seasons and across reproductive class. We will assess any correlations between habitat selection and productivity or survival. Furthermore, we utilize location data collected from GPS collars deployed on predators to assess the impact of predators on moose habitat selection and behavioral ecology. Moose nutritional condition will be assessed by ultrasound and/or blood and muscle protein assays, and physical measures developed at the ADF&G Moose Research Center. Measures will be repeated over several years to determine the seasonal and spatial conditions under which moose recover from previous maternal investment. We will also compare nutritional status, growth, development and frequency of pathologies and disease in GMU 13A and GMU 20A.