ALCES VOL. 34 (1), (1998)    - 

i

Jon Lykke died of cancer at home in 
Verdal, Norway in the company of his fam-
ily on February 1, 2008.  Jon was a pillar of 
the moose community in Norway and will 
be dearly missed.  He delivered a paper 40 
years ago at the 5th North American Moose 
Conference in Alaska, and subsequently 
attended most of the International Moose 
Symposiums where he became a lifelong 
friend and colleague of many moose biolo-
gists worldwide. 

Jon completed his graduate studies in 
Forestry at the Norwegian University of 
Life Sciences and also studied internation-
ally at the University of British Columbia.  
He published numerous papers about moose 
and forest management in Norway, pro-
vided countless lectures about moose and 
forest management in Norway, and was an 
important contributor to ALCES.  He was 
also the Chief Editor of two books: “Moose 
and Moose Hunting in Norway” (1986) and 
“The Forest” (1988).  

His recent paper in 2005 was a his-
torical compilation and analysis of moose 

IN MEMORIAM
Jon Lykke 

1935 – 2008

management techniques and harvest data 
that included data collected by both he and 
his father Leif.  They were the Managing 
Directors and Foresters of Værdalsbruket 
from 1931-2002, Jon the final 31 years.  
Værdalsbruket is one of the largest private 
properties in Norway consisting of 900 km2 
of forests, mountains, marshland, rivers, 
and lakes. It is unlikely that any comparable 
long-term records of integrated moose-for-
est management exist. To produce a culmi-
nating paper after retirement is tremendous 
testimony to his passion for moose and 
forest management in Norway.     

Jon’s constant involvement with the 
international moose community was both 
admirable and sincerely respected, and his 
passion and generosity toward his col-
leagues make him a great role model for 
international cooperative efforts in moose 
research and management.  ALCES pro-
vides this tribute in an international spirit 
of cooperation, in recognition and sincere 
appreciation of our honored colleague Jon 
Lykke.