Team Successfully Completes This Winter’s UP Moose Collaring and Capture Effort

February 20, 2026
3:59 am

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In the frozen wilds of Michigan's western Upper Peninsula, a crack team from the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Northern Michigan University, and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources just wrapped up a high-stakes winter operation: capturing 41 moose and recollaring two more between February 14-17. This brings the total number of GPS-collared moose to 56, a critical tool for tracking survival rates, population dynamics, and the factors driving—or derailing—the herd's recovery in a region where these massive cervids have been bouncing back from near-extinction lows. It's not just science; it's boots-on-the-ground wildlife management in one of America's last true frontiers, where moose numbers have climbed from a dismal 84 in 2014 to over 600 today, thanks to smart hunting regs, habitat work, and predator control. For the 2A community, this moose mission underscores why armed citizens are the ultimate stewards of our natural heritage. These collars reveal hard data on calf predation (often wolves), winter browse scarcity, and disease pressures—insights that directly inform sustainable harvest quotas. Without hunters footing the bill via Pittman-Robertson excise taxes on guns and ammo, projects like this wouldn't exist; we're bankrolling the science that keeps moose populations robust enough for future tags. Imagine the irony: anti-gun zealots decry our rifles, yet those same tools ensure ethical, regulated hunts that prevent overpopulation crashes, just like in Alaska where moose thrive under robust 2A-backed management. This UP effort is a win for data-driven conservation, proving Second Amendment rights aren't just about self-defense—they're about defending the wild from bureaucratic neglect and apex predator overreach. The implications ripple outward: as collars ping real-time data, expect refined DNR policies that could expand hunting opportunities, bolstering rural economies hit hard by logging declines. For pro-2A folks, it's a rallying cry—grab your tags, support wildlife agencies, and keep the collars counting. Michigan's moose are monitoring themselves back to abundance, but only if we stay vigilant with lead and liberty. Stay tuned for collar updates; this herd's story is far from over.

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In the frozen wilds of Michigan’s western Upper Peninsula, a crack team from the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Northern Michigan University, and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources just wrapped up a high-stakes winter operation: capturing 41 moose and recollaring two more between February 14-17. This brings the total number of GPS-collared moose to 56, a critical tool for tracking survival rates, population dynamics, and the factors driving—or derailing—the herd’s recovery in a region where these massive cervids have been bouncing back from near-extinction lows. It’s not just science; it’s boots-on-the-ground wildlife management in one of America’s last true frontiers, where moose numbers have climbed from a dismal 84 in 2014 to over 600 today, thanks to smart hunting regs, habitat work, and predator control.

For the 2A community, this moose mission underscores why armed citizens are the ultimate stewards of our natural heritage. These collars reveal hard data on calf predation (often wolves), winter browse scarcity, and disease pressures—insights that directly inform sustainable harvest quotas. Without hunters footing the bill via Pittman-Robertson excise taxes on guns and ammo, projects like this wouldn’t exist; we’re bankrolling the science that keeps moose populations robust enough for future tags. Imagine the irony: anti-gun zealots decry our rifles, yet those same tools ensure ethical, regulated hunts that prevent overpopulation crashes, just like in Alaska where moose thrive under robust 2A-backed management. This UP effort is a win for data-driven conservation, proving Second Amendment rights aren’t just about self-defense—they’re about defending the wild from bureaucratic neglect and apex predator overreach.

The implications ripple outward: as collars ping real-time data, expect refined DNR policies that could expand hunting opportunities, bolstering rural economies hit hard by logging declines. For pro-2A folks, it’s a rallying cry—grab your tags, support wildlife agencies, and keep the collars counting. Michigan’s moose are monitoring themselves back to abundance, but only if we stay vigilant with lead and liberty. Stay tuned for collar updates; this herd’s story is far from over.

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