AMERICAN RANGE OF THE MOOSE 37 



moose are found in considerable numbers. ^'The 

 United States Forest Service estimates approxi- 

 mately 1500 moose in the Superior National 

 Forest,^ and this estimate is conservative. There 

 are probably as many more outside the refuge. The 

 annual kill of moose [in Minnesota], legal and 

 otherwise, not including toll taken by wolves, is 

 probably not over 200 animals.''^ 



Westward, from Minnesota to the Rocky Moun- 

 tains, the plains afford little suitable cover, and 

 moose are not found. The mountains of western 

 Montana and eastern Idaho, and the adjacent 

 Wyoming region, however, harbor some moose, 

 but the heads are inferior, and hunting is not 

 generally permitted. Glacier National Park, in 

 northwestern Montana, comprises 1400 square 

 miles. W. W. Payne, superintendent of the 

 park, in his report for the year ending June 30, 

 1919, says: "Moose are found in considerable 

 numbers around the lakes of the Flathead Valley." 

 This is a wild region of Alpine character on the 

 western slope of the Continental Divide. 



• See Appendix, page 363. 



''Report of the State Game and Fish Commissioner, July 31, 191 8, 

 p. 26. Moose are much more prolific than most species of deer, 

 and the natural increase, if these estimates are correct, could be 

 expected to offset the losses due to hunting and to the depredations 

 of wolves, leaving an ample margin to add to the State's present 

 stock. 



