New research by an interdisciplinary team of scientists, archivists and tribal cultural heritage leaders suggests moose inhabited Colorado’s southern Rocky Mountains centuries before state wildlife reintroductions began in the late 1970s.
The study draws on archaeological evidence, historical records and Indigenous knowledge to reconstruct the species’ long-term history in the region.
The modern Colorado moose is often viewed as a recent arrival, following wildlife translocations that began in the late 1970s. The new research study, published in the Journal of Biogeography, found evidence that moose were present in Colorado long before those reintroductions, including archaeological specimens from northern Colorado dating back millenia.
The researchers examined newspaper archives, archaeological site reports, scientific journals, museum collections and photo archives to determine where and when moose were present in Colorado prior to the mid-1900s.
They also reviewed archaeological evidence from northwest Colorado, including moose specimens dating back thousands of years to the early Holocene.
Lead author William Taylor, a University of Colorado Boulder associate professor of anthropology and CU Museum curator of archaeology, said Indigenous histories and historical records were a critical part of the research. The team found evidence that moose were well known and embedded in the traditional knowledge of Native people across the southern Rockies.
“The scholarly approach of joining Indigenous knowledge with historical accounts, archaeology and paleontology, ‘shows the power of multiple independent lines of evidence converging on the conclusion that moose were part of southern Rocky Mountain ecosystems long before modern reintroductions,’” said study co-author Jonathan Dombrosky.
Crystal C’Bearing, a Northern Arapaho tribal historic preservation officer and study co-author, described moose as culturally significant. Among the Northern Arapaho, “the moose is considered a valued commodity among the tribe,” she said, adding that societies “utilize many animals, including moose, in their clothing, society items and regalia. This tradition continues today.”
Researchers say the findings have implications for wildlife management and conservation policy in Colorado and beyond, particularly in ecosystems shaped by climate change and altered predator populations.
“Rocky Mountain National Park is dealing with ecological impacts from moose, but treating moose as a non-native species changes which management responses seem justified,” said John Wendt, study co-author and assistant professor of Rangeland Ecosystem Management at New Mexico State University.
The researchers argue that incorporating long-term ecological history can help wildlife managers better understand present-day ecosystems and make more informed decisions about the future.
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