Faced with declining moose populations in Idaho, the Department of Fish and Game is taking steps to ensure the animals rebound, including reducing the amount of moose tags available to hunters.
Fish and Game says the issue, which isn’t unique to Idaho, has become especially noticeable since 2010, based primarily on reports from hunters who left their tags unfulfilled after failing to locate moose during the hunting season. Due to the solitary nature of the animals, agency biologists were neither able to determine rough estimates of how many moose actually reside in Northern Idaho, nor reach a sound conclusion on the reasons for their decline.
One of the primary theories among biologists included climate change, as shorter winters and longer summers tend to be more difficult for moose that rely on deep snow to evade predators.
The Idaho Fish and Game commission in January voted to offer 171 fewer moose tags for the upcoming 2019 hunting season. Across Idaho, available tags for antlered moose dropped from 669 in the 2017-18 season to 560 later this year.
For antlerless moose, the tag amounts dropped from 136 to 74. (KREM)
