Enter your observations on the number, sex and location of moose into the free BC MooseTracker App and help biologists in B.C. track trends in moose populations.
Moose are an iconic part of B.C. landscapes. They are a popular source of sustenance and recreational hunting of B.C. residents and non-residents alike, and they are critical to the culture and sustenance of many Indigenous communities.
Maintaining accurate information on moose populations is a key part of safeguarding this culturally and ecologically important species. Many moose populations do not get surveyed frequently and this information can help biologists better understand and manage moose populations.
To supplement traditional aerial surveys, the B.C. government released the BC MooseTracker App in 2016. This free-to-download citizen-science tool enables hunters to contribute their valuable observations on the number, sex and location of moose they encounter into a central database. Please note that the information is only collected at a Management Unit level; it is not collecting data on favored hunting spots. The app has a map that shows management units and a copy of the BC Hunting and Trapping Synopsis.
MooseTracker App 2020 Information
So far, the utility of BC MooseTracker is limited by low user participation. Currently fewer than 5% of moose hunters in B.C. are using the app. Increasing the number of moose hunters using the app to 10-20% would have a huge impact on the ability to use the data to better manage moose.
Biologists would never use the data from the app alone to make management decisions; rather the information could be used to help identify where more effort (aerial surveys and so on) or changes in management may need to be considered.
If more hunters could find the time to enter their observations, biologists could harness these collective observations to detect changes in moose populations at low cost.