Nevada’s first big-game moose hunt will be tiny as unusual southern expansion defies climate change

RENO, Nev. — In what will be a small, big-game hunt for some of the largest animals in North America, Nevada plans its first-ever elk hunting season this fall.

Wildlife managers say the explosive growth in Nevada’s elk population over the past five years, rising to a population of more than 100, justifies the handful of planned harvests.

Scientists say the kind of experiment should also provide a real-time glimpse into how the complexities of climate change are affecting nature, and why these majestic – some say goofy-looking – horse-sized mammals have unexpectedly expanded their range to warmer area.

“Elk are newcomers to North America,” said Nevada Department of Wildlife specialist Cody McKee.

The last deer species to cross the land bridge from the Bering Sea to Alaska and Canada, McKee said the movement of elk into the Lower 48 has occurred almost exclusively in the past 150 years.

“Their post-Ice Age expansion isn’t really complete yet,” McKee said. “And that’s what we’re seeing in Nevada right now: those elk are moving into the state and finding suitable habitat.”

Only a few Nevada elk, perhaps just one, will be killed in an area larger than Massachusetts and New Jersey combined. But government officials expect thousands of applications for the handful of hunting tags, and it’s already controversial.

“Why an elk hunt at all?” asked Stephanie Myers of Las Vegas at a recent wildlife commission meeting. “We want to see moose, see moose. Don’t kill moose.’

The first moose was spotted in Nevada in the 1950s, not long before the dim-witted cartoon character “Bullwinkle” made its television debut. Only a handful of sightings followed for decades, but started to increase about a decade ago.

In 2018, officials estimated there were 30 to 50, all in the northeastern corner of Nevada. But the population has more than doubled and experts believe there is enough habitat for about 200 populations, a level that could be reached within three years.

Bryan Bird, program director of Defenders of Wildlife Southwest, is among the skeptics who suspect it is a short-lived phenomenon.

“I believe the story of the elk is one of expanding the range of spirits or expanding the range of spirits. By this I mean that these animals are expanding into a habitat that may no longer be suitable in fifty years due to climate change,” says Bird.

Government biologists admit they don’t fully understand why the elk have moved so far south, where seasonal conditions are warmer and drier than they traditionally prefer.

“It seems to be the opposite of where we would expect elk expansion given their ecology,” said Marcus Blum, a Texan.&M University researcher hired to help assess future moves. He analyzed aerial surveys, individual observations and habitats to project growth trends.

Elk, standing 6 feet tall at the shoulder and weighing up to 1,000 pounds, live in riparian areas where they feast on berry bushes and aspen leaves along the edges of mountain forests native to the northern half of Nevada.

They usually avoid places where temperatures regularly exceed 20 degrees Celsius.

The Nevada study documented that elk spent nearly half their time in areas where that “thermal threshold” was exceeded about 150 days per year, while climate change models suggest the threshold will be exceeded by another 14 days per year by 2050, said Blum.

To be clear, the valleys beneath the snow-capped, elk-filled winter mountain ranges are 500 miles from the Las Vegas Strip, in the desert that many people think of as Nevada.

Researchers have more questions than answers about why elk continue to expand their range into Nevada, where prolonged drought has taken a toll on other wildlife, McKee said.

“There’s a lot of speculation and questions about why they’re here, given concerns about the changing environment and how it’s likely to become warmer and drier,” McKee said. “Why don’t our extended drought cycles seem to affect nature? elk population?”

The population along the U.S.-Canada border has fluctuated for more than a century. Several states, from Idaho to Minnesota and Maine, have sometimes dramatically reduced hunting quotas to allow populations to recover.

Alaska is home to the vast majority of moose, well over 200,000, with approximately 7,000 harvests per year. Maine has nearly 70,000, which is five times more than any other Lower 48 state, and issued 4,100 permits last year. Neighboring New Hampshire offered just 35 for more than 3,000 elk and Idaho spent about 500 for its 10,000 to 12,000.

Before the 1960s, elk were not sighted in Washington State, but the growing population now exceeds 5,000. The state issued three hunting licenses in 1977 and now totals more than 100 annually.

Nevada’s study shows the population could produce more harvests than planned, McKee said, but “conservative is the message here.”

Aerial surveys are now being aided by radio collars that biologists have fitted to four bull elk and nine cows since 2020. In some places there are significantly more males than females. Removing one or two bulls could improve herd dynamics, he said.

The exact number of permits will be determined in the coming weeks, but McKee expects no more than three. Only Nevadans can register for the inaugural hunt, which will help inform decisions about future efforts.

Successful hunters must submit the skull and antlers for state inspection within five days. This will give scientists more insight into herd health, body conditions, diseases and parasites.

Bill Nolan of Sparks, who first hunted ducks at age 12, says he plans to apply for an opportunity he describes as “slim and none” to draw an elk tag.

“For hunters, it would be like hitting the lottery,” he said.