Historical records dating back to the 1850s indicate that while moose occasionally wandered into northern Colorado from Wyoming, there was never an established stable breeding population. That changed in the 1960s and 1970s when Colorado Parks and Wildlife worked with the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, the general public and local ranchers to establish the North Park area in the Routt National Forest near Walden as the site for the first moose reintroduction.
A breeding population of around 2,300 moose had been established in Colorado by 2012, and today the state is home to more than 3,000 moose in one of the fastest growing populations in the lower 48 states.
With the increase in moose populations, human interactions and encounters in populated areas seem to be increasing throughout the state. The town of Idaho Springs had a few interactions with a yearling bull moose over the past few weeks, eventually leading to the animal’s relocation.
Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office, Idaho Springs Police, Clear Creek Fire Authority, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife worked to relocate the animal to a new spacious and quiet Clear Creek County home.
The moose was escorted through the town a few days prior to its relocation with help from Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office and the Idaho Springs Police Department.
