Will MN’s struggling moose get ‘endangered species’ protections?

[h2ofwlr]

For links: http://bringmethenews.com/2016/06/03/wi ... otections/
June 3, 2016 By Ethan Groothuis


Minnesota’s moose may be in line for federal protection.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced there was enough “substantial” evidence to consider putting moose in northeastern Minnesota on the endangered species list.

That decision came after a public petition was filed by the Center for Biological Diversity last summer, arguing the species is dying off because of “climate change, habitat degradation, disease and other factors.” (Anyone can petition an animal to be considered or removed from the list, the Fish and Wildlife Service explains.)

The service’s 90-day review found that, since the population of moose has declined rapidly in northern Minnesota, the species may be eligible for protection.

The findings apply only to a subspecies of moose (Alces alces andersoni) found in Minnesota, North Dakota, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Wisconsin and Isle Royale in Lake Superior.
A yearlong review now starts

Unfortunately for the moose, results don’t come quickly. The Fish and Wildlife Service will now start a yearlong “status review” to find out if the moose species qualifies to be on the list.

This 12-month study though has different standards than the 90-day review – and could ultimately come to a different conclusion, the Federal Register says.

There is also a 60-day period for the public to comment on the preliminary findings, but the service warned it could take several years for the listing process to unfold.

Moose are listed as a “species of special concern” in Minnesota, according to the state’s DNR, but that doesn’t qualify them for special protections.
What happens after making the list?

Once an animal or plant is added to the endangered species list, it starts to receive extra protection, the Fish and Wildlife Service said.

This includes protection from adverse effects of federal projects; restrictions on taking, transporting or selling a species; authority for the Fish and Wildlife Service to develop and carry out recovery plans; authority to purchase important habitat; and federal aid to local wildlife agencies.

The DNR has a list of all of the plants and animals in Minnesota that are considered endangered (click here to see it).
Moose in Minnesota

Since 2006, Minnesota’s moose population has declined 55 percent. That year, northeastern Minnesota’s estimated moose population was 8,840.

“Moose are not recovering in northeastern Minnesota,” Glenn DelGiudice, moose project leader for the DNR, said in a news release.

But in the past five years, the decline of moose has slowed. That could be because more calves are surviving past their first year, DelGuidice said.

It’s not clear what is causing the moose population to decline, but researchers say possible reasons include health issues, like parasites or infection, and predators.

Of the 47 adult moose captured and collared over the past three years, two-thirds died from health-related causes, with wolves killing one-third of the moose, the DNR says. (However, sickness made 25 percent of those killed easier prey.)


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Based upon how the Feds have dealt with the Wolves--stay the hell away from the Moose!

[gimpfinger]

Can't be happening because I just had a Facebook wolf humper tell me the NE mn moose are doing fine.

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[Quack]

Actually fowler, wolves are one of few species to ever make it off the list and I don't think anyone at FWS believes they are endangered. Thank the antis and our legal system for the wolf bs.

The endangered species act is a joke and should be scrapped for ineffectiveness. It's just a pry bar for antis to shut down things they don't like, such as hunting, roads, building projects, etc.

Maybe fowler has time to google how many species have been listed and how many have recovered