Moose are among the most iconic and majestic animals in Colorado, but they are also relatively new to the state. Thanks to successful reintroduction efforts, moose populations in Colorado have grown steadily since the 1970s, reaching over 3,000 animals today. However, the 2020 Cameron Peak Fire, which was the largest wildfire in Colorado’s history, may have posed a threat to these magnificent creatures. How did the fire affect the moose and their habitat? And what does the future hold for them? In this article, we will explore these questions and more.

One wouldn’t know it to look at today’s photo, but it was taken at 7:19 am on the morning of August 13th, 2020. The very same day the Cameron Peak wildfire started. The location of this image is 2-3 miles from where the fire started. I was out that morning with friends, making moose photographs, in the area that is now part of the burn scar from the fire.

I am a photographer, not a scientist or wildlife biologist. As a younger man, I was a Satellite Communications Engineer. but even then, I was also a photographer. My efforts these days are quite literally focused on making photographs. In the summer months, that means moose. It has been that way for over 15 years and if I live long enough, it will be for another 15 years. In my life to date, I’ve photographed a lot of moose in a wide variety of situations.

Myself and other photographers I know have observed a decline in moose numbers in Northern Colorado over the past few years. It has recently become a topic of discussion amongst us. The question rises, “what is causing this?”

The Cameron Peak Fire burned 208,913 acres in Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Rocky Mountain National Park in both Larimer and Jackson Counties in 2020. Wildlife officials have yet to fully assess the impact of the fire.

In the time since the Cameron Peak wildfire, I’ve explored the burn area extensively, searching for and photographing moose. I have reached a few preliminary conclusions regarding how the moose population is faring in the Cameron Peak burn scar. The Cameron Peak Fire, which officially burned 208,913 acres in Northern Colorado in 2020, has had a significant impact on the moose population in the area based on my observations. According to my research, there was a recent study which was published in the journal Wildlife Monographs in 2022, which used a combination of aerial surveys and ground observations to estimate the moose population in the area before and after the fire. The study found that the moose population in the area declined from an estimated 2,200 to 1,540 animals, a drop of 30%. The problem here is that I can’t find the actual study. It may not exist. It may exist but be disputed. I simply don’t know.

I do know this much. I’m seeing fewer moose in many of the areas of Northern Colorado that I have explored over the years. In the past, a typical day of moose hunting (for photography) would turn up about 20 different moose on average. I’ve had days in the past where I’ve seen up to 30-40 moose. For the years 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, those numbers are down significantly. I’m averaging around 10-15 moose sightings per day in areas that previously had twice as many moose.

I recently discussed the moose habitat situation with Colorado wildlife photographer Dawn Wilson.

Dawn is a well known photographer who is also a former President of North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA), and Author of the book “100 Things to do in Estes Park Before You Die.” Dawn has been photographing moose since 2008.

I asked Dawn “What changes have you observed in moose habitat, moose populations and movements in the areas where she works, which includes Rocky Mountain National Park and the burn scars from the Troublesome & Cameron Peak wildfires?”

Here’s what Dawn had to say: “I never used to see moose on the eastern side of the Continental Divide. My first adventures to look for moose were always on the west side of the Divide. In the last six or seven years, I have seen a significant increase in moose populations moving east in Colorado.” She added, “There is one area where I used to see an abundance of moose, especially bull moose at the end of the summer and as many as nine or ten at a time. Two summers ago, I only saw three bulls in this area and it required a four-mile hike. Last year I didn’t even go because it became such an unpredictable location to photograph them.”

Dawn also adds: “Hunting pressure and increased recreational use has certainly changed the behavior of the moose enough that they have ventured farther away from people in that particular area. Colorado’s two largest wildfires in history — the Cameron Peak and the East Troublesome Fire — burned more than 200,000 acres of moose habitat in 2020. At first, the moose moved out of the burn areas and congregated in meadows and willow bottoms on the edges of the burn scars. After that first year, however, I feel like the moose are moving back into the burn areas and taking advantage of the thick growth on the forest floor of green, leafy plants and flowers. I was surprised to see them in the burn areas as much as I have but the fires certainly caused the moose to move to new regions, some finding healthy and abundant habitats that didn’t have moose in them before. There are, however, still a few drainage’s that used to be thick with moose before the fires and are void of the animals to this day. These areas are the ones that burned hot and have taken longer to recover, causing the plants to grow slowly and the heat, which moose do not like, to be persistent without the cover of the forest.”

I also spoke with Sally Dixon, a Northern Colorado photographer who has been documenting moose in the wild since 2004. If anyone knows where the moose are in Northern Colorado, it is Sally.

Here’s what Sally has to say: “Along Hwy 14 has greatly changed as more and more people have been coming to the area. I used to go over there and hardly see anyone else during the week but now, wow sometimes. I don’t go over on weekends now as it’s too crowded. Along the highway you used to see so many between Joe Wright reservoir and the pass. The years of noisy logging and much more traffic seems to have pushed them further into the forests, then the fire compounded that.”

When asked about the impact of human activity in the habitat, Sally said. “People have been so invasive in areas the moose really used to like.” Sally adds; “Seems like the fire pushed them into other areas for a while, like State Forest State Park but I think some have gone back to their previous places since we were lucky to not lose more of their feeding areas in Long Draw. Places like Trap Lake were certainly affected. Not as much forest for them to rest in on some sides and I’m sure some went up into Trap Park and didn’t come back down since the food is good up there and there is a lot less people. The lake itself still seems to have plenty of aquatic food and definitely some still enjoy it but not as many in previous years and some people I feel are disturbing them with their kayaks and such, which until the last 2 years I hadn’t seen people do and I don’t think any kind of water craft should be allowed there, only shore fishing.

In general, Sally believes that the moose population is still plentiful, but many have relocated do to human activity and the affects of the fire in their habitat.

I also had a conversation with Eric Bergman, a wildlife researcher with Colorado Parks & Wildlife, who specializes in ungulates. In recent years, Eric is probably the CPW biologist who has been most involved with moose, and is a wealth of information regarding moose populations in Northern Colorado.

I asked Eric about a rumored study claiming a 30% decline in moose population in the Cameron Peak burn scar. Eric responded “The story of a 30% decline in the moose population must be a rumor mill product. This is the first I’ve heard of it, and if a study had happened, it would have been me doing it.” Eric continued “I know our local wildlife managers do have concerns about declines in that population, and I collected data that demonstrates low pregnancy rates (compared to mule deer and elk), but if someone generated an estimate of a 30% decline, that had to be a “back of the envelope” calculation. I also doubt any decline could be linked to the Cameron Peak fire.”

Summarizing Eric’s view, any population decline is most likely are result of the moose relocating to better habitat and perhaps partially a result of lower birth rates in the general population over the past few years. Anecdotally, I would concur with lower birth rates as well. I am not seeing as many calves as I used to see, which is confirmed by other photographers as well. The moose are definitely relocating though.

Another reality I’ve discovered. My productivity in photographing moose has declined significantly beginning in 2020. I am referring to the number of usable, keeper photos of moose that I have made each year in the same general areas, year over year. By looking at my photograph numbers, I would say the high-water mark for finding and photographing moose in Northern Colorado was in 2018. There has been a steady decline in my productivity each year since, with the years 2020, 2021 and 2022 producing about half of the results that I’d seen in the years leading up to 2018. I am currently working on this year’s moose photography project, and my productivity is perhaps as low as it has ever been. I won’t have a good sense of how this year’s project will turn out until the end of August. But I’m hearing from my friends that they are seeing significantly fewer moose in the Cameron Peak burn scar so far this summer as well. It’s this feedback and my own observations that have prompted me to write this article.

To my way of thinking, there are several factors that could be contributing to the decline in moose numbers in Northern Colorado.

First, the fire destroyed a significant amount of moose habitat. Virtually all of the burn scar was and still is moose habitat. Moose are browsers, and they rely on a variety of plants for food. The fire destroyed many of these plants, making it more difficult for moose to find food in what was previously lush habitat.

Second, the fire also made it more difficult for moose to find suitable drinking water. Moose need to drink a lot of water, and the fire runoff has affected many of the water sources in the burn scar.

Third, the Covid pandemic was spreading at roughly the same time as the fire. The pandemic resulted in a lot of people heading outdoors into the mountains for hiking, camping, fishing and looking for other recreation than sitting around their homes in confinement. I have personally noted an increase in human traffic into the remote areas where moose live. In my experience, where there are more people, there is less wildlife.

As a result of these factors, the moose population in the Cameron Peak burn area has declined noticeably. Probably in the form of relocation. A lot of the moose are moving on to better environments, such as unburned areas of Rocky Mountain National Park and areas of Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forest that haven’t been affected by the wildfire. I’ve also noticed fewer cows with calves, which may be factor or result, it’s not quite clear. Fewer moose being born = fewer moose.

I don’t know that we’ll ever have definitive answers to these questions. Almost all of the information coming out of Northern Colorado burn scars and moose habitat is anecdotal, primarily from people like me. Colorado Parks & Wildlife doesn’t have the answers either. They don’t have the funds and people to study the situation in great detail. Wildlife Biologist Eric Bergman himself tells me that they rely a great deal on private reports coming back to them from people like me.

All that said, I think the major issue with reduced moose counts along the Highway 14 corridor in Northern Colorado is mostly a result of increased outdoor activity by humans due to the pandemic. It’s been the one constant for the past three summers.