The Boone and Crockett Club recently voted unanimously to expand the boundary for Shiras’ moose to include the state of Nevada. The distribution of moose in the western United States was updated in 2015 to include northeast Nevada and management through the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) has allowed the state’s moose population to continue to expand and grow. The agency has determined that hunter harvest is sustainable and could also provide critical biological information. As a result, NDOW approached the Club about adding moose hunted in Nevada to the organization’s big game records keeping program.
“We are happy to promote a conservation success story where an iconic western big game species like Shiras’ moose have grown enough in population to support a regulated hunting program,” commented Kyle Lehr, the Boone and Crockett Club’s director of big game records. “Adding Nevada to the boundary for Shiras’ moose celebrates this accomplishment and allows the agency and B&C to gather critical data about the species. Measuring both hunter-harvested or found bull moose antlers creates a data set that shows how management of habitat can support a thriving moose population that can produce mature males.”
The Boone and Crockett Club has been measuring the antlers, horns, and skulls of North American big game since 1895 with the original vision of creating a record of what was thought to be the vanishing wildlife in the country. The organization’s Records of North American Big Game was first published in 1932, and now in its 15th edition, serves as a vital record of biological, harvest, and location data on hunter-taken and found big game species based on the principle that the existence of mature, male specimens is an indicator of overall population and habitat health. While often misunderstood, the records program is not to celebrate the success of a hunter but rather the success of conservation efforts and selective hunting that leads to the presence of larger, older animals on the landscape.
“We were excited when the Nevada Department of Wildlife reached out to us to inquire about the expansion of our Shiras’ moose boundary to include their state,” Lehr continued. “Realizing that this was one of the original goals of our records program—to document the successes of wildlife management in North America—we worked with the Department on an expansion plan and presented that to the Records committee for review and approval at our recent annual meeting. Adding Nevada within the Shiras’ moose boundary celebrates this and allows the agency and B&C to gather critical information about the species as agencies throughout North America work to better understand this iconic western big game animal.”
NDOW currently estimates that the statewide moose population exceeds 100 adults and is projected to double by 2028 under average recruitment scenarios. Nearly all mountain ranges of Elko County, north of Interstate 80, have reported observations and most are occupied year-round by bulls, cows, and calves; observations in the Ruby Mountains, south of Interstate 80, are also increasing year-over-year. The Ruby Mountains contain vast and contiguous expanses of suitable but unoccupied moose habitat that is anticipated to allow rapid population growth. NDOW has identified three goals guiding their moose conservation management: maintain and improve abundance and distribution of Nevada’s resident moose population, allow natural expansion of moose into suitable but unoccupied habitats, and identify and encourage recreational opportunities for all user groups.
Director of the Nevada Department of Wildlife, Alan Jenne, notes, “For over a century, the Boone and Crockett Club has diligently tracked big game records throughout North America. The B&C dataset has proven valuable for tracking long-term trends in hunter harvest, age structure, and changes in antler and horn development of ungulates over-time. We strongly believe the acceptance of record submissions from moose in Nevada will be a benefit to both of our organizations.”
With the approval of the boundary changes, the Boone and Crockett Club records department is now accepting entries of Shiras’ moose from Nevada. Official Measurers have been made aware of the updated boundary and it will be included in the next edition of B&C’s Official Measurer manual, How to Score North American Big Game.
About the Boone and Crockett Club
Founded by Theodore Roosevelt in 1887, the Boone and Crockett Club promotes guardianship and visionary management of big game and wildlife in North America. The Club maintains the highest standards of fair chase sportsmanship and habitat stewardship. Member accomplishments include enlarging and protecting Yellowstone and establishing Glacier and Denali national parks, founding the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service and National Wildlife Refuge System, fostering the Pittman-Robertson and Lacey Acts, creating the Federal Duck Stamp program, and developing the cornerstones of modern game laws. The Boone and Crockett Club is headquartered in Missoula, Montana. Click here to learn more about the Boone and Crockett Club.
