Recent snowfall in the Quetico Superior region is finally allowing Minnesota Department of Natural Resources researchers to survey the moose population in northeastern Minnesota.
Minnesota Public Radio has the story HERE.
The aerial survey was to begin three weeks ago, but researchers needed to wait for an eight-inch snow cover to allow them to count moose in dense vegetation. The survey, conducted annually since 1960, provides important information on the status of the animal.
The northeastern Minnesota moose population, which was estimated at 8,000 just six years ago, was thought to number just 4,900 animals in 2011. Last year, the Minnesota DNR announced a plan, HERE, aimed at staunching the decline in the moose population.