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John Enger
Minneapolis

Groups petition for protection of moose in Midwest

A moose calf follows its mother
In this 2014 photo provided by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, a moose calf followed its mother in the snow near Grand Marais, Minn.
Pete Takash | Minnesota DNR file via AP

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Updated: 3:20 p.m. | Posted: 10:26 a.m.

Minnesota's declining moose population could get some additional federal protections.

The Center for Biological Diversity and Honor the Earth filed a petition Thursday in an effort to get a subspecies of moose living in Minnesota and across the Midwest onto the federal Endangered Species List.

Collette Adkins, a lawyer and biologist with the non-profit conservation organization said climate change and a shifting habitat have caused drastic declines in Minnesota's moose population.

The state Department of Natural Resources' 2015 moose survey put the moose population at 3,450, compared to 4,350 in 2014 and 2,760 in 2013. The number of moose is down roughly 60 percent from 2006.

Besides Minnesota, protections would cover moose populations in North Dakota, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and Isle Royale, as well as a few animals in Wisconsin.

Adkins said protection under the Endangered Species Act could bring federal money for moose research and stop recreational moose hunting.

Minnesota already suspended moose hunting in 2013 and classified moose as a species of special concern. North Dakota has reduced the number of hunting tags. Michigan and Wisconsin have never allowed moose hunting.

"Moose deserve protection," Adkins said, "but speaking candidly it will be years before they receive it."

The U.S Fish and Wildlife Service has 90 days to respond to the petition. If officials decide there's a real concern, Fish and Wildlife biologists will have a year to research moose populations.

Rich Baker, DNR endangered species coordinator said there could also be complications with the petition itself. The petition specifically lists the Alces alces andersoni subspecies of moose, known to live in the Midwest.

Thanks to evolving classification methods, Baker said the name on the petition may not be the correct scientific name of the moose living in Minnesota. On the DNR website, the moose listed as a subspecies of special concern is the Alces americanus

"The first question the Fish and Wildlife Service will have to answer is, 'Is this a legitimate subspecies or not?'" he said. "They've had to grapple with similar questions about the wolves."