Northern Moose Alliance
Moose Research Project Timeline
Recruitment & Fecundity Of Minnesota Moose (2025–2031)
This multi-year, co-stewardship research project brings together state and Tribal biologists to better understand survival, reproduction, and recruitment of young moose in northeastern Minnesota.
The work spans six years, allowing researchers to follow known-age moose from their first winter through their first calving seasons.
At A Glance
Year-By-Year Timeline
A detailed schedule showing seasonal field windows, monitoring, sample collection, flights, and analysis tasks — organized by year and month range. The color key is included below.
Color Key
Grey timetable cards are previous time periods. Some time periods include crossover goals. Use the key to highlight all time periods that include related work, even if it’s only noted in one bullet point of a time period.
The black dot marks the current time period.
Click a key item to highlight matching timetable entries.
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Project Setup
- Purchase capture supplies/collars
- Finalize capture contract
- Hire moose field biologist
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Capture/Collar — Cohort 1
- Capture/collar 80 moose (year/cohort 1)
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Samples + Monitoring — Cohort 1
- Analyze biological samples from capture
- Monitor collared moose for mortality (cohort 1)
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Capture/Collar — Cohort 2
- Capture/collar 80 moose (year/cohort 2)
- Fecal pellet collection (cohort 1)
- Monitor collared moose for mortality (cohorts 1, 2)
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Parturition Monitoring — Cohort 1
- Monitor female moose movements and conduct flights to determine parturition (cohort 1)
- Monitor collared moose for mortality (cohorts 1, 2)
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Mortality Monitoring — Cohorts 1–2
- Monitor collared moose for mortality (cohorts 1, 2)
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Thermal Flights — Calf Survival (Cohort 1)
- Conduct aerial thermal flights to determine calf survival rates (cohort 1)
- Monitor collared moose for mortality (cohorts 1, 2)
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Capture/Collar — Cohort 3
- Capture/collar 80 moose (year/cohort 3)
- Fecal pellet collection (cohorts 1 & 2)
- Monitor collared moose for mortality (cohorts 1, 2, 3)
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Parturition & Fecundity Flights — Cohorts 1–2
- Monitor female moose movements and conduct aerial thermal flights to determine parturition & fecundity (cohorts 1 & 2)
- Monitor collared moose for mortality (cohorts 1, 2, 3)
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Monitoring + Collar Retrieval
- Monitor collared moose for mortality (cohorts 1, 2, 3)
- Collect released collars from cohort 1
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Thermal Flights — Calf Survival (Cohorts 1–2)
- Conduct aerial thermal flights to determine calf survival rates (cohorts 1 & 2)
- Monitor collared moose for mortality (cohorts 2 & 3)
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Fecal Pellet Collection — Cohorts 2–3
- Fecal pellet collection (cohorts 2, 3)
- Monitor collared moose for mortality (cohorts 2, 3)
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Parturition & Fecundity Flights — Cohorts 2–3
- Monitor female moose movements and conduct aerial thermal flights to determine parturition and fecundity (cohorts 2, 3)
- Monitor collared moose for mortality (cohorts 2, 3)
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Monitoring + Collar Retrieval
- Monitor collared moose for mortality (cohorts 2, 3)
- Collect released collars from cohort 2
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Thermal Flights — Calf Survival (Cohorts 2–3)
- Conduct aerial thermal flights to determine calf survival rates (cohorts 2 & 3)
- Monitor collared moose for mortality (cohort 3)
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Fecal Pellet Collection — Cohort 3
- Fecal pellet collection (cohort 3)
- Monitor collared moose for mortality (cohort 3)
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Parturition & Fecundity Flights — Cohort 3
- Monitor female moose movements and conduct aerial thermal flights to determine parturition and fecundity (cohort 3)
- Monitor collared moose for mortality (cohort 3)
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Summaries + Model Updates
- Analyze/summarize pregnancy, parturition, and fecundity data
- Update vital rates in moose population models
- Monitor collared moose for mortality (cohort 3)
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Collar Retrieval + Survival Analyses
- Collect released collars from cohort 3
- Analyze survival/cause-specific mortality data for collared moose
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Thermal Flights + Calf Survival Analysis (Cohort 3)
- Conduct aerial thermal flights to determine calf survival rates (cohort 3)
- Analyze calf survival data
- Interpret results and begin manuscripts
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Project Completion & Final Report
- June 30, 2031 — project completion / appropriation end date
- August 14, 2031 — final report due date
Explore the Research
Looking for the full context? These pages cover background, funding, updates, partners, and related moose resources.
Objectives
Survival, pregnancy, calving, and habitat use — what we’re measuring and how.
Moose Resources
News, videos, partner reports, and research explaining moose survival.
Stay Connected To Moose Research
This work depends on more than scientists in the field. It depends on informed, engaged people who care enough to stay connected.
We’d love to keep you updated as this work evolves and share ways you can help protect moose as opportunities arise. Please join our quarterly newsletter for exclusive updates, expert moose insights, and actions you can take.
Interested in contributing directly to the research? Visit our Citizen Science Portal to share trail-camera photos or videos that can help researchers assess possible winter tick-related hair loss and better understand moose health across the northeastern range.
Interested in staying connected in other ways, too? Explore resources built for the field and the community, including Moose Safety and Viewing Etiquette plus a social-media toolkit.