Moose - Conservation and Management

Historical records dating back to the 1850s indicate that moose wandered into northern Colorado from Wyoming, but were transient and never established a stable breeding population. Most of the historic sightings involved hunters seeing and/or harvesting a single bull moose.

Moose Reintroduction

In the 1950s, Colorado wildlife officials considered bringing moose to the state. There were concerns, voiced at public meetings on a series of proposals, that moose would compete with cattle and sheep on grazing land, and potentially damage local ecosystems and other wildlife species. State wildlife managers advocated moose reintroduction because of the abundant habitat available and lack of natural predators.

During the 1960s and the early 1970s, the Colorado Division of Wildlife (now Colorado Parks and Wildlife) worked with the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, the general public and local ranchers on selecting the North Park area in the Routt National Forest near Walden as the site for the first moose reintroduction.

In 1978, state wildlife experts transplanted 24 male and female moose from Wyoming and Utah to create a breeding population in North Park and provide hunting opportunities. Additional moose from Wyoming, Utah and Colorado’s own growing population were introduced to other areas of western Colorado over the years. The project succeeded in creating new hunting opportunities and a popular wildlife viewing option. The state legislature, in 1995, declared Walden the “Moose Viewing Capital of Colorado.”

By 2012, the reintroduction program had established a breeding population of about 2,300 moose in Colorado.  Moose hunting is available in 39 game management units (GMUs). There were 16,500 applicants for 219 moose hunting licenses and 185 moose were harvested in 2012. While the moose population in other states has declined, Colorado’s moose population continues to grow.