Ontario’s moose population under threat: environment report

Maine office of tourism

Maine's moose population is estimated at 75,000, the second biggest in the U.S. after Alaska.

Ontario’s moose population is under threat with “rapid declines” in numbers over the past decade, warns the environmental commissioner in a report released Wednesday that urges the government to take better care of the province’s wildlife and forests.

“One of Ontario’s most important species is the moose. Moose are key forest species in most of Ontario,” said Dianne Saxe, who blamed the “loss of roadless areas, too much fire suppression, disease, parasites and hunting all make life difficult for moose.

“Climate change is making it worse — moose are exquisitely adapted to cold weather and very poorly adapted for heat.

“In the face of all these challenges, what has the ministry done? Some small adjustments to moose hunting; no action to preserve their habitat. Hunting rules for calves are still too lax. More important, the ministry is trying to manage this important species with far too little information.”

Saxe cited a “large-scale loss of biodiversity,” calling it a “crisis in our province and around the world.”

In Ontario, eight of 27 amphibian species are considered at risk, as are moose and four of eight bat species are listed as endangered.

Bats, which help cull insect pests, are succumbing to “white nose syndrome” and Saxe warns that “every known colony of little brown bats has been affected by white-nose syndrome. It is likely that the Ontario population will never recover and may be wiped out entirely.”

Her report, titled Small Steps Forward, does congratulate the government for making some changes, especially when it comes to fighting invasive species, such as the emerald ash borer. However, she also questioned “will it work? Most of the hard front-line work is still left to municipalities, conservation authorities and private landowners.”

Saxe also recommends the natural resources ministry abandon its tradition of fighting all forest fires, because “not only does this interfere with the natural ecological cycles, but it also increases the risk that future fires will burn more intensely, creating the risk of significant ecological and economic damage.”

So far this year in Ontario, fires have hit some 76,000 hectares of forest.