As has been reported in Wilderness News Online, the moose population in northeast Minnesota has dropped from 8,800 moose in 2006 to 2,760 in last winter’s survey. Even more alarming is a 35% decline in just the last year. As a result, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources suspended moose
hunting for the 2013 season. This moratorium was also joined by the first nation people of Grand Portage and Bois Forte. The Fond du Lac Band had originally planned to go ahead with a hunt of a maximum of 25 bull moose but as reported in the Duluth News Tribune, in a split decision, the band opted to err on the side of caution and suspend the hunt. Biologists do not believe subsistence or sport hunting is the cause of the decline, but also believe there is no justification for holding a hunt for an animal population in such a steep decline.