Moose devouring forest

[Lee Borgersen]

  Increasing in numbers, Isle Royale moose devouring forest

 ... 5/2/19

ISLE ROYALE NATIONAL PARK - Moose on Isle Royale are so numerous that they are starting to damage the forest, with moose numbers approaching historic highs just as new wolves are calling the island home.

That's the report from wildlife biologists at Michigan Technological University as they release results Monday, April 29, from their 61st annual survey of moose and wolves on Lake Superior's largest island.

It's the longest continuous predator-prey survey in the world.
The annual winter survey counted about 2,000 moose, up from about 1,500 the past couple of years.
Scientists already knew they had 15 wolves on the island — two natives that have been hanging on, unable to successfully mate, as well as 13 newcomers from Minnesota and Ontario relocated to the island between October and March.

John Vucetich, a Michigan Tech biologist who now heads the study, said surveyors this winter saw heavily moose-munched balsam fir trees, the first serious over-browsing since about 1996. That's about the time moose numbers peaked at 2,445 before they ran out of food and began to starve, crashing to 700 a year later. The moose are thriving after years with few wolves around and a string of mild or, like this year, average winters.

"We're seeing the first really obvious damage to the balsam fir that we've seen since that 1996 time period," Vucetich said. Balsam fir is a key winter food for the moose.
Vucetich said he expects moose numbers to level off and begin to drop, if not by next winter's survey then shortly thereafter, as food becomes a limiting factor in herd size and as the new wolves get better at hunting in packs.

"We don't know yet whether moose can sustain this (population) level for some time or if it will start to drop slowly or drop rapidly. ... But I tend to think this is about the peak for carrying capacity," he said. It's the second-highest moose count in the 61-year history of the survey.

The 45-mile-long, 143,000-acre island is located about 15 miles off Minnesota's North Shore. It's managed by the National Park Service, mostly as federal wilderness.
Moose came to the island around 1900, peaking at 2,445 in 1995 and hitting bottom at just 385 in 2007. Wolves are relatively new to the island, having crossed the ice from the North Shore in 1949. Their numbers reached a high of 50 in 1980, and 24 wolves roamed the island as recently as 2009.

Climate change, spurring fewer years of ice bridges between the island and the mainland, has reduced the number of new wolves venturing to the island in recent decades and reduced the pack's genetic diversity. With no new wolves coming to the island, the animals simply inbred and developed genetic deformities that doomed their survival. The final two wolves left on the island last year were a father-daughter pair, unable to successfully breed.

Vucetich said it was personally gratifying for him to see new wolves thriving on the island this winter. So far the new wolves — all fitted with GPS transmitting collars — are still feeling each other out and haven't developed specific social groups or packs as yet, he said.

They have however been able to kill enough moose to survive "so they are learning," Vucetich said. "It's going to take at least 12 months, maybe 24 months, of us watching to see how they form into their social groups and adapt to one another. Remember that most all of the new wolves were strangers to each other, and that will require some time to sort out."

Vucetich said the decision to bring new wolves to Isle Royale from elsewhere marks the first of likely many natural resource questions raised by human-caused climate change — namely how often humans should intervene to solve a climate change-caused problem.
"For me, what's important is how wolves were represented in how we answered this questions on climate change," Vucetich said.

"We had to answer the question that if climate change caused this problem for wolves on Isle Royale, what, if anything, should we do about it? I believe it was the right decision to bring wolves back. But it's a tough question, and it's going to get raised more and more often in many areas of the world."
The Park Service decided one year ago to bring up to 30 wolves to the island over three years. Phyllis Green, Isle Royale superintendent, said that after looking west to Minnesota and north to Ontario for new wolves, the focus will shift south later this year.

"We are looking at translocation of wolves from Michigan in the fall," Green said Monday.

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[Lee Borgersen]

  Michigan lawmakers push for Isle Royale moose hunt

10/1/19


  ....
The National Park Service is not currently considering a managed moose hunt, according to a 2018 report, due to the difficulty related to logistics, increased staffing requirements, removal of carcasses from the landscape, and the impacts to wilderness character.
Written By: Malachi Barrett,  Sep 29th 2019 - 7pm.

  .......
Moose on Isle Royale have be come so numerous they are damaging the forest. The last time that happened their numbers crashed as moose starved and succumbed to harsh winters. Photo courtesy Rolf Peterson/Michigan Tech.
Moose on Isle Royale have be come so numerous they are damaging the forest. The last time that happened their numbers crashed as moose starved and succumbed to harsh winters. Photo courtesy Rolf Peterson/Michigan Tech.
LANSING, Mich. — A bipartisan group of Michigan lawmakers argue a limited hunt is the best way to control an “exploding population” of moose at Isle Royale National Park.

  .....
A House resolution introduced in September argues an out-of-control moose population is creating an “ecological dilemma” as they feed on the park’s vegetation. A diminishing population of wolves, the only natural predator on the island, is failing to contain the moose population in recent years, according to a study by Michigan Technological University.

  .....
“Unfortunately, the wolf population is in decline and the moose population is just getting out of hand,” said state Rep. Steven Johnson, R-Wayland. “As a result, you’re going to see the vegetation there is really going to take a hit pretty hard. There needs to be proper management of that moose population, and as we’ve seen in some other national parks, hunting is really a good way to do that.”

Isley Royale is under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service, which would need to sign off on the creation of a moose tag lottery hunt sought by the resolution. Hunting is allowed in some national parks already.

The National Park Service "is not" currently considering a managed moose hunt, according to a 2018 report, due to the difficulty related to logistics, increased staffing requirements, removal of carcasses from the landscape, and the impacts to wilderness character. Hunting and managed culling of animal populations was dismissed from further consideration.

Johnson said a moose tag lottery would offer a one-of-a-kind hunting experience, bring more economic activity to the Park Service and the Upper Peninsula, and solve ecological issues on the island. Moose have been a protected species in Michigan since 1889.
“We think that there’s a very apt solution to doing this that quite frankly, everyone benefits (from),” Johnson said.

Isle Royale National Park is the largest wilderness area in Michigan and is largely untouched by civilization. It is illegal to feed, touch or intentionally disturb wildlife within the park boundary.

The Park Service indicated a pressing need to do something about the declining wolf population, according to the 2018 report, raising concerns about possible effects to the Isle Royale ecosystem, including effects to both the moose population and vegetation.

A continued increase in the moose population could lead to a decrease in nutrition and even large-scale starvation, according to the report.

A Michigan Tech study published in March found the moose population quadrupled since 2011, reaching 2,060 last year. Meanwhile, there are only 17 wolves on the island, 15 of which were imported from the mainland and from another Lake Superior island by Park Service staff in the past year. The relocation effort is expected to continue until the island wolf population hits about 30. The Park Service and researchers from Michigan Tech are tracking the movements of the wolves around the island. The primary goals of the project are to ensure that wolves form packs, reproduce and act as predators on the park’s burgeoning moose population.

The Michigan Tech study notes that moose are one of the main reasons the island experienced a 75% decline in the number of mature fir trees since 1846.

The resolution is also sponsored by and state Reps. Gregory Markkanen, R-Houghton; David LaGrand, D-Grand Rapids; and John Chirkun, D-Roseville. It was introduced on Sept. 11 and referred to the Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Committee.

Johnson said he hasn’t solicited input from the DNR, but stakeholders and experts would be called in during the committee process.

If passed, copies of the resolution would be forwarded to the director of the Park Service, members of Michigan’s congressional delegation, the director of the Department of Natural Resources and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

“They could just throw in the trash, but I would hope that they would examine it and say ‘let’s look at this as a legitimate solution,’” Johnson said.

The News Tribune contributed to this report.



Moose on Isle Royale have be come so numerous they are damaging the forest. The last time that happened their numbers crashed as moose starved and succumbed to harsh winters. Photo courtesy Rolf Peterson/Michigan Tech.


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[Leech~~]

Brainstorm!  Ship some over to Minnesota to help feed our Wolves! 

[Rebel SS]

Brainstorm!  Ship some over to Minnesota to help food our Wolves! 

Dial 1-800 Moose Meal...we deliver! 

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[Reinhard]

Ya a hunt would be the best way but I get the logistic part of it also.  Got to bring the meat back.  They do have the charter boats that go there but then there is the weather factor.  Helicopter deal would be a way also but spendy.  good luck.

[savage270]

The nice thing is that hunts on national park service land are open to any American citizen, so it wouldn't be limited to Michigan residents only.

[Steve-o]

Brainstorm!  Ship some over to Minnesota to help feed our Wolves! 

Or vice versa.  Just sayin...

[Rebel SS]

Brainstorm!  Ship some over to Minnesota to help feed our Wolves! 

Or vice versa.  Just sayin...

Are you trying to compete with our mousse moose meal program?!           

[Leech~~]

Brainstorm!  Ship some over to Minnesota to help feed our Wolves! 

Or vice versa.  Just sayin...

Really I was saying we could use some more and new Moose in the gen pool!  Screw the Wolves! 

[Steve-o]

Brainstorm!  Ship some over to Minnesota to help feed our Wolves! 

Or vice versa.  Just sayin...

Really I was saying we could use some more and new Moose in the gen pool!  Screw the Wolves! 

No, I get it.  And I was just saying we need fewer wolves in the state.  And if it is still illegal to destroy them, perhaps we could re-populate Isle Royale.

Hmmmm.  Haven't we been here before?

[Rebel SS]

What's that strange music playing....

[JohnWester]

they'll f*** this up

[Rebel SS]

they'll f*** this up

Well of course they will. That's their job.