The Northwoods Land Trust’s purchase of the Little Bear Creek Conservation Area, a 40-acre property with nearly 2,300 feet of frontage on Little Bear Creek, is notable for its expansive shoreline and the associated wetlands.

But perhaps most exciting is that the parcel is by the far western edge of the massive Powell Marsh State Wildlife Area, and within this general area a pair of breeding moose have produced calves in recent years.

If you’ve not seen a moose before, they are the world’s largest ungulate, weighing from as little as a 700-pound female to a 1,400-pound male, and standing up to seven feet tall with antlers over four feet long. Moose prefer to browse in young second-growth forests and brush, a common forest community in the Little Bear Creek Conservation Area.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) estimates that the state’s moose population is between 20 and 30 animals. Of those, the majority don’t live here. Instead, most are young bulls wandering down from Minnesota and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula looking for love. The DNR believes that there generally are no more than two to four cows in the state, so out of the 20+ animals in the state, there’s about 20 lonely bulls out there looking for those few females. The DNR also states there is no active breeding population, but that may not be the case as evidenced by the successful calving seen in the Powell Marsh area.

According to A.W. Schorger’s book Wildlife in Early Wisconsin: A Collection of Works, before Euro-American settlement, moose were most numerous in the northwestern part of the state – Douglas County followed by Bayfield and Burnett Counties. Unregulated hunting diminished the population, and by 1900, moose were considered extirpated from Wisconsin. In the 1960s, however, moose began to be spotted in the northwestern portion of the state as the Minnesota population increased and some wandered south into Wisconsin.

Unfortunately, the very few moose we have today are threatened in areas where deer densities exceed 10 deer per square mile, and this density is exceeded throughout most of northern Wisconsin. This is due to the presence of Parelaphostrongylus tenuis, a parasitic brainworm which causes severe neurological damage and is carried by white-tailed deer. This parasite has proved to cause high mortality in moose populations, but doesn’t harm the deer.

Moose are also threatened by our warming winters. The moose’s long and hollow outer hair coat, with its dense soft undercoat, allows it to easily withstand intense cold. Moose are so well insulated that winter temperatures of 23°F will make them pant. In summer, as low as 57°F can cause moose to begin to suffer from heat stress. Even higher summer temperatures will cause moose to stop eating as they try to stay cool. This in turn leaves them more vulnerable to starvation in winter. In addition, animals that enter the winter in poor health are more likely to have poor reproductive success in the spring. The bottom line: Moose require cold winters and cool summers, and the colder the better.

Northern Wisconsin is at the southernmost edge of the breeding range for moose, so our Little Bear Creek property is part of a very special “moose nursery” where at least one pair of moose appear to be reproducing. How long they will survive in our rapidly changing climate is up for grabs, but protecting their habitat is essential if they are to have a chance. We’re betting on the Little Bear Creek property contributing to their survival.

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The Little Bear Creek parcel was purchased by Northwoods Land Trust in May 2024. It includes 40 acres with 2,273 feet along Little Bear Creek in the Town of Sherman (Iron County).  Find maps and use guidelines here.