Northern Moose Alliance Reaches Two Key Milestones

Collaring completed, new web-based clearinghouse launched

Grand Marais MN; Northern Moose Alliance researchers have kicked off two important efforts at the center of their work to identify and address causes of moose mortality in Northeast Minnesota and Isle Royale, located twenty miles offshore in Lake Superior. They placed tracking collars on 130 moose, despite severe weather challenges, and launched a new website (moosealliance.org) that offers a behind the scenes look at moose research, a clearing house of resources, and opportunities to get involved.

“Collaring moose allows us to collect GPS locations of where the moose is, so we can see what types of habitat the moose are using. If the collar stops moving, it will send a notification, and that often indicates that the animal has died and will enable us to investigate potential causes,” said Morgan Swingen, wildlife biologist with the 1854 Treaty Authority, one of four major partners in the effort along with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, and National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation (NPLSF).

While moose collaring is an annual activity for Northern Moose Alliance partner organizations, this year’s capture efforts were different with the addition of a focus on young moose, ages eight months to three years. “We don’t have data really from our state on survival of this younger age class of moose,” Swingen said. “The juveniles we captured were all roughly nine months old.”

Periods of extreme cold, high winds, and poor visibility made it a challenging year for moose collaring, said Seth Moore, Director of Natural Resources for the Grand Portage band. Adverse conditions required scientists to condense work that would normally take 45 days into an action-packed 15 day window. After airplanes identify moose using thermal imaging, helicopters follow to sedate the moose so they can be collared. “We’re flying in a helicopter with no doors, absolutely none,” Moore said, “so you have a wind chill that is absolutely brutally cold.”

With the moose now collared, researchers will be making detailed notes on movements–and also inviting the public to get involved.

“State and tribal scientists have worked for decades to investigate and develop solutions to improve the health of Minnesota moose and recover populations. Yet the public is generally not aware of this work,” said DNR Wildlife Health Program Supervisor Michelle Carstensen. The Northern Moose Alliance is working to change that with a new website, moosealliance.org, offering research and other resources on all things moose.

For Carstensen, the launch of the Northern Moose Alliance website’s citizen science portal is particularly exciting. "We intend to document if winter ticks are limiting recruitment of young collared moose during our project, and by employing the help of citizens across the Arrowhead to share trail camera photos of moose, we will be able to generate a hair loss index that will help us better understand the role of these illnesses in adults and young moose across their range," she said. "People with trail camera photos of moose are asked to visit the citizen science page on moosealliance.org to learn more about what photos are useful, and how to submit them"

NPLSF is hosting the Alliance’s wildlife biologist, Adam Mortensen, and leading communication efforts that will grow to include videos and photographs from the field, regular updates, and social media channels. “People care deeply about moose, but may not understand how they live, why they die, and how they are being studied,” said NPLSF Executive Director Tom Irvine. “We want the public to be able to follow along and become part of the solution to protecting this cherished and iconic species.”

For more information, or to sign up for regular email updates, visit moosealliance.org.

Research conducted by the Northern Moose Alliance is funded in part by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENRTF) as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR). The partnership is actively working to raise additional funding from public and private sources and appreciates recent support from the Van Sloun Foundation.