4214(111-114).pdf


ALCES VOL. 42, 2006  BASE ET AL. - STATUS OF MOOSE IN WASHINGTON

111

HISTORY, STATUS, AND HUNTER HARVEST OF MOOSE IN 
WASHINGTON STATE

Dana L. Base1, Steve Zender1, and Donny Martorello2

1Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 2315 North Discovery Place, Spokane, WA 99216, 
USA; 2Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501, USA

ABSTRACT:  Since the middle 20th century, moose have expanded their range and population in Wash-
ington, especially within the northeastern part of the state.  The Washington Department of Fish and 
Wildlife opened a limited-entry hunting season on moose in 1977.  Permit numbers gradually increased 
from 3 in 1977 to 98 permits offered in the 2005 hunting season.  Hunter harvest is believed to be well 
within the reproductive capacity of Washington’s moose population.  Moose abundance and range are 
expected to at least remain at current levels into the future.

ALCES VOL. 42: 111-114 (2006)

Key words: Alces alces, antler widths, bull / cow / calf ratio, limited-entry hunting, management goals 
and guidelines, population status, range, tooth cementum aging, Washington

Until the early 1970s there were few re-
cords for moose (Alces alces) within the State 

included a photograph of an adult bull taken 
by hunter Pete Lemery on November 16, 1929 
near Twin Lakes in Ferry County, Washington 
on the Colville Indian Reservation (Scheffer 
and Dalquest 1944).  In 1954, Washington De-
partment of Game (later renamed Washington 
Department of Fish and Wildlife, WDFW) 
personnel found a shed moose antler in the 
Selkirk Mountains of Pend Oreille County 
in the northeastern corner of the state.  The 
following year, 1955, two agency biologists 
found the carcass of a calf moose in the same 
general vicinity (S. Guenther, WDFW, un-
published data).  By 1972 a well-established 
resident population of moose was documented 
in Pend Oreille County that consisted of an 
estimated 60 animals (Poelker 1972).  This 
population grew to 850-1,000 animals over 
the next 30 years and greatly expanded in 
range (WDFW 2003).

The assumed subspecies of moose in 
Washington is Shira’s, Alces alces shirasi, as 
this subspecies comprises the closest moose 
population to Washington in both Idaho and 

British Columbia (Poelker 1972, Compton 
and Oldenburg 1994).  Figure 1 illustrates the 
estimated range of moose as of 1997 based 
upon modeling accomplished by Johnson and 
Cassidy (1997).  Moose are still expanding in 
distribution within Washington as numerous 

range in northeastern Washington have been 
made since 1997.

In 1977, the Washington State Wildlife 

hunt of moose within the state.  Three tags 

Fig. 1. Range of moose in Washington State, USA, 
as of 1997 (indicated by shaded area: from 
Johnson and Cassidy 1997).



STATUS OF MOOSE IN WASHINGTON – BASE ET AL. ALCES VOL. 42, 2006

112

issued by lottery-type drawing were awarded 
that year.  As both the population and range of 
moose have expanded since 1977, the number 
of special hunt permits has gradually increased 
to a high of 98 permits in 2005 (Fig. 2).

On a statewide basis the WDFW has the 
following goals for managing moose:

1. Preserve, protect, perpetuate, and manage 
moose and their habitats to ensure healthy, 
productive populations.

2. Manage moose for a variety of recreation-
al, educational, and aesthetic purposes 

and ceremonial uses by Native Americans, 
wildlife viewing, and photography.

3. Manage statewide moose populations for 
a sustained yield (WDFW 2003).

In 2003, the WDFW developed guidelines 
for managing the hunter harvest of moose 
in Washington (Table 1).  These guidelines 
are generally averaged over a 3-year period 

(1997).  Management philosophy is directed 
at providing a high-quality hunting experience 
with good opportunity for harvesting a mature 
bull.  Field observations, aerial surveys, hunter 

success rates, antler widths, and moose ages 

(Compton and Oldenburg 1994).
As the range of moose has expanded, the 

number of Game Management Units (GMUs) 
with allocated moose permits has increased 
from 1 in 1977 to 10 in 2004.  Likewise, of 
the 39 counties within Washington State, the 
number in which moose can be hunted has 
increased from 1 in 1977 to 6 in 2005.

The annual hunter harvest success rate on 
both bull and cow moose has been consistently 
high, ranging from 67% to 100% with an aver-
age of 92% and a mode of 100%.  A total of 
748 moose were legally harvested between 
1977 and 2005, including 556 bulls and 192 
antlerless moose (cows and calves).  The an-
nual average age of harvested bull moose as 
determined by tooth cementum analysis was 
5.2 years (range 3.9 - 6.9) from 1990 through 
2004 (n = 373 ) (Fig. 3).  The oldest bull moose 
taken by hunters in Washington was aged at 
15.4 years.  This bull was harvested in 2003.  
The average antler spread of harvested bulls 
from 1990 through 2005 was 94 cm (37 inches) 

0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90

100
110

19
77

19
79

19
81

19
83

19
85

19
87

19
89

19
91

19
93

19
95

19
97

19
99

20
01

20
03

20
05

Year

N
um

be
r

Permits
Harvest

Fig. 2. Allocation of permits and hunter harvest 
of moose in Washington State, USA, 1977 
– 2005.

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

19
90

19
91

19
92

19
93

19
94

19
95

19
96

19
97

19
98

19
99

20
00

20
01

20
02

20
03

20
04

20
05

Year

M
ea

n
an

tl
er

sp
re

ad
(c

m
)

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

M
ea

n
ag

e

Mean Spread
Mean Age

Fig. 3. Annual average antler spread (cm) and age 
of hunter-harvested bull moose in Washington 
State, USA, from 1990 to 2005.

Guideline Liberalize harvest level Acceptable harvest level Restrict harvest access

Average bull : 100 cow ratio > 75 bulls 60 – 75 bulls < 60 bulls

Average calf : 100 cow ratio > 50 calves 30 – 50 calves < 30 calves

Median age of harvested bulls > 6.5 years 4.5 – 5.5 years < 4.5 years

Table 1. Guidelines for managing the hunter harvest of moose in Washington State, USA.



ALCES VOL. 42, 2006  BASE ET AL. - STATUS OF MOOSE IN WASHINGTON

113

with an annual mean ranging between 84 and 
104 cm (33 – 41 inches; n = 440 ) (Fig. 3).  The 
widest antler spread of any hunter-harvested 
moose in Washington was 147 cm (58 inches) 
from a bull taken in 2000.

Bull and calf moose ratios as determined 
from early winter helicopter surveys ranged 
from 63 to 128 bulls and 26 to 74 calves per 
100 cows from 1994 through 2005 (Table 
2).  The calf ratio appears to be indicative of 
a stable to increasing population.  Percent-
ages of bull moose tallied by age class using 
criteria outlined by Timmermann (1993) and 

Bubenik et al. (1977) has shown fairly equal 
proportions of adult and sub-adult bulls since 
2000 (Fig. 4).  In addition there has been an 
increase in the proportion of yearling bulls 
since 2000, probably indicative of a moose 
population continuing to grow.

REFERENCES
BUBENIK, A. B., O. WILLIAMS, and H. R. 

TIMMERMANN.  1977.  Visual estimation 
of sex and social class in moose (Alces
alces) from the ground and the plane.  A 
preliminary study.  Proceedings of the 
North American Moose Conference and 
Workshop 13: 157-176.

COMPTON, B. B., and L. E. OLDENBURG.  1994.  
The status and management of moose in 
Idaho.  Alces 30: 57-62.

COURTOIS, R., and G. LAMONTAGNE.  1997.  
Management systems and current status 
of moose in Quebec.  Alces 33: 97-114.

JOHNSON, R. E., and K. M. CASSIDY.  1997.  
Terrestrial mammals of Washington State.  
Location data and predicted distributions.  
Volume 3 in K. M. Cassidy, C. E. Grue, 
M. R. Smith, and K. M. Dvornich, editors.  
Washington State Gap Analysis – Final 
Report.  Washington Cooperative Fish 

Year

Number Seen During Survey

Bulls:100 cows Calves:100 cowsBulls Cows Calves

1994 14 17 5 82 29

1995 17 20 6 85 30

1996 17 24 8 71 33

1997 58 65 21 89 32

1998 33 47 12 70 26

1999 27 36 22 75 61

2000 55 59 29 93 49

2001 31 49 17 63 35

2002 59 46 34 128 74

2003 62 63 35 98 56

2004 39 47 21 83 45

2005 34 48 20 71 42

Table 2. Bull and calf moose ratios per 100 cows as determined from early winter helicopter surveys 
in Washington State, USA, 1994 – 2005.

0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%

100%

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Year

Pe
rc

en
t

% yearlings % sub-adults % adults

Fig. 4. Percentages of bull moose tallied by age 

winter helicopter surveys in Washington State, 
USA, 2000 - 2005.  The sample size (n) of total 

of each bar.

55 31 59 62 39 34



STATUS OF MOOSE IN WASHINGTON – BASE ET AL. ALCES VOL. 42, 2006

114

and Wildlife Research Unit, University of 
Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.

POELKER, R. J.  1972.  The Shiras Moose in 
Washington.  Unpublished administrative 
report.  Washington Department of Game, 
Olympia, Washington, USA.

SCHEFFER, V. B., and W. W. DALQUEST.  1944.  
Records of mountain goat and moose from 
Washington State.  Journal of Mammalogy 
25: 412-413.

TIMMERMANN, H. R.  1993.  Use of aerial 
surveys for estimating and monitoring 
moose populations – A review.  Alces 
29: 35-46.

(WDFW) WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF FISH
AND WILDLIFE.  2003.  Moose, Game Man-
agement Plan, Wildlife Program.  Wash-
ington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 
Olympia, Washington, USA.