Why a 鈥榤oose boom鈥� in Northern Colorado has some biologists concerned, and what wildlife officials are doing about it

In The NoCo

Why a 鈥榤oose boom鈥� in Northern Colorado has some biologists concerned, and what wildlife officials are doing about it

By In The NoCo,

Ariel Lavery, Brad Turner, Erin O'Toole

Published March 21, 2025 at 5:40 AM MDT

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A bull moose lifts his front legs high to jump over a pine fence in the forest. — Colorado Parks and Wildlife is concerned about what a growing moose population in Northern Colorado could do to wetland areas. They say the best tool available to keep their populations in check is issuing more hunting licenses.

Tourists love the sight of a moose with their long noses, large sloping antlers, and gangly legs.

But Rocky Mountain National Park biologists say the growing moose population appears to be harming wetlands in the park. That鈥檚 according to a in the Fort Collins Coloradoan. And state wildlife officials say they also want to make sure a 鈥榤oose boom鈥� doesn鈥檛 threaten the willows, aspen and other plants that moose feed on in wetland areas.

The moose population is a big shift from a half-century ago when there were basically no moose in Colorado and wildlife managers introduced 24 of them, in 1978.

Andy Holland is Colorado Parks and Wildlife Big Game Manager who oversees the state鈥檚 moose population 鈥� which now numbers 3500. Erin O鈥橳oole asked him how officials keep the size of the herd from overwhelming the habitat 鈥� or 鈥渙verbrowsing,鈥� as wildlife officials might say.

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In The NoCo

KUNC's In The NoCo is a daily slice of stories, news, people and issues. It's a window to the communities along the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The show brings context and insight to the stories of the day, often elevating unheard voices in the process. And because life in Northern Colorado is a balance of work and play, we celebrate the lighter side of things here, too.

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Ariel Lavery

Ariel Lavery grew up in Louisville, Colorado and has returned to the Front Range after spending over 25 years moving around the country. She co-created the podcast Middle of Everywhere for WKMS, Murray State University鈥檚 NPR member station, and won Public Media Journalism awards in every season she produced for Middle of Everywhere. Her most recent series project is "The Burn Scar", published with The Modern West podcast. In it, she chronicles two years of her family鈥檚 financial and emotional struggle following the loss of her childhood home in the Marshall Fire.

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Brad Turner

Brad Turner is an executive producer in KUNC's newsroom. He manages the podcast team that makes In The NoCo, which also airs weekdays in Morning Edition and All Things Considered. His work as a podcaster and journalist has appeared on NPR's Weekend Edition, NPR Music, the PBS 暗黑爆料hour, Colorado Public Radio, MTV Online, the Denver Post, Boulder's Daily Camera, and the Longmont Times-Call.

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Erin O'Toole

As the host of KUNC鈥檚 new program and podcast In the NoCo, I work closely with our producers and reporters to bring context and diverse perspectives to the important issues of the day. Northern Colorado is such a diverse and growing region, brimming with history, culture, music, education, civic engagement, and amazing outdoor recreation. I love finding the stories and voices that reflect what makes NoCo such an extraordinary place to live.

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