Moose of the Adirondacks

How GIS can inform a citizen science campaign in the largest protected wilderness of the contiguous United States

Hannah Whelan

Introduction

The Adirondacks

New York State holds the largest area of protected wilderness within the contiguous United States. This area is known as the Adirondack Park.

Location of the Adirondacks

Comprised of over 6 million acres, half of which are publicly owned and protected, the park is an oasis for wildlife and the 12.4 million tourists who visit each year (About the Adirondack Park, n.d.).

Wildlife, landscapes, and tourists of the Adirondacks

The Adirondack wilderness is made up of varying habitats, allowing for rich biodiversity across plant and animal species. For this research, our species of interest was the moose.

 Male moose enters a body of water where they can often be found cooling down and foraging during summer months  

What is significant about moose in the Adirondacks?

Although moose are present in the Adirondacks today, their population was once extirpated from the Park.

In the late 19th century, due to destructive logging practices and poor hunting regulations, moose were no longer present throughout New York State (Adirondack Moose - facts about the region’s iconic animal, 2021)

However, in the 1980's the moose naturally returned!

With the return of the moose came the need for a management plan. The New York Moose Project was established by Cornell University, the NYSDEC, and the State University of Environmental Science and Forestry (New York Moose, n.d.).

This team used GPS collars and helicopter fly overs to study the dispersal, behavior, and population demographics of moose in the Adirondacks.

Although this research method is useful, it is also very costly.

There is still much to understand about the new population of moose in the Adirondacks. Their numbers have not grown as anticipated by biologist (Return of the Moose, n.d.).

Understanding where moose are throughout the park, and what may be hindering the growth of their population is essential for implementing management plans and ensuring the health of the species.

As previously mentioned, the Adirondacks are vast.

An "all hands on deck" approach to studying moose could greatly benefit the New York Moose Project.

Footpaths offer a unique opportunity for citizens science research. With 12 million tourists visiting the Adirondacks each year, and over 2,000 miles of hiking trails in the park, researchers have an opportunity to gather additional documentation of moose occurrences, demographics, and behaviors.

Over half of the 2,000+ hiking trails in the park are managed by the DEC

Trail (left), and citizens scientists (right)

Research Question

What DEC Trails intersect with suitable moose habitat in Hamilton County?

Why Hamilton County? Hamilton County is one of two counties that resides entirely inside the ADK Park boundary. Due to time constraints, Hamilton County was chosen as a smaller study area that serves as a model of what analyses can be performed throughout the Park's entirety.

Methods

To begin, we first had to identify where moose are likely to be found in Hamilton County, during the summer months (tourist season)

01 / 08

SLOPE

According to a study performed in Canada on the large scale movements of herbivores, female moose and their calves are more likely to travel over terrain with a slope of 10 degrees or less during the summer months (Leblond, Dussault, & Ouellet, 2010).

Movement patterns are an important aspect of suitable habitat prediction. Using a DEM of Hamilton County, we were able to determine where slope values are equal to or less than 10 degrees. The map on the left shows a reclassified raster, areas in purple deeming suitability.

LAND COVER

Next, we had to take a look at foraging habitat. According to the NYSDEC's website, moose prefer "upland mature mixed forest, open areas created by burns or logging, and wetlands".

On the left is a map of reclassified land cover data. Areas in forest green indicate wetlands, mixed forests, herbaceous lands, and shrublands.

DISTANCE TO WATER

Moose rely on bodies of water during the summer months for foraging, escaping the heat, and pestering insects.

The distance accumulation tool was used to determine areas within a 2 miles radius of all bodies of water. Our findings indicate that water accessibility is no issue for moose in Hamilton County.

NDVI & EMERGENT VEGETATION

Emergent vegetation is highly preferred by grazing moose. Dense forests are frequented more during the winter months when low lying, emergent vegetation is unavailable (Leblond, Dussault, & Ouellet, 2010; Peterson, Kramer, Hurst, Spalinger, & Frair, 2022).

An NDVI analysis was performed to determine areas of emergent vegetation in the summer of 2023.

WEIGHTED SUM

And finally a weighted sum analysis was performed on all of the previous layers.

This produced a raster indicating suitable moose habitat in Hamilton County

INTERSECTION QUERY

An intersection query determined...

What DEC trails in Hamilton County intersect with suitable moose habitat?

432 out of 458 trails

Although these findings supported the implementation of a citizens science campaign for moose research, we found it was necessary to narrow the results. This would allow for a more manageable number of trails when working on a citizens science campaign.

In order to accomplish this, we further specified the requirements for suitable moose habitat.

Habitat connectivity is important for many animals, especially moose - who have migrating tendencies.

A region group analysis was performed. Suitable habitat covering an area of 35 square miles (100,000 pixels) or more was deemed suitable. The intersection query was once again performed, and the results are shown on the revised map.

Although the number is still quite large, the total number of DEC trails that intersect with revised suitable moose habitat is...

Results

259 out of 458 DEC Hiking Trails intersect with suitable moose habitat in Hamilton County

These trails span from northern to southern regions of the county

Discussion

Our study indicates great opportunity to supplement current moose research with citizens science

The New York Moose Project already has a website where moose sightings can be documented...

Signage postings at the trailheads identified in this study can be used to encourage public participation in moose research

Simply raising the publics awareness of moose habitat and potential sighting locations can create ample excitement and participation.

Sightings, scat, markings, tracks, fur/antlers and video/audio documentation are all ways in which the public can provide valuable information.

Citizens science on DEC trails will help researchers and wildlife managers gain insight to what is occurring in moose habitat throughout the vast Adirondack wilderness.

This research in Hamilton County is a model of what could become a more expansive project throughout all of The Adirondack Park.

The presence of moose has become a point of pride in the Adirondack community.

The more that is understood about the Adirondack moose population, the more we can ensure its health and growth.

A closer look at the process...

References

Literature

Adirondack Moose - facts about the region’s iconic animal. Adirondack.net. (2021, September 13). https://www.adirondack.net/wildlife/moose/

Leblond, M., Dussault, C., & Ouellet, J. (2010). What drives fine‐scale movements of large herbivores? A case study using moose. Ecography, 33(6), 1102–1112.  https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0587.2009.06104.x 

Moose. Department of Environmental Conservation. (n.d.).  https://dec.ny.gov/nature/animals-fish-plants/moose 

New York Moose. (n.d.-b).  https://ny-moose.weebly.com/ 

Peterson, S., Kramer, D., Hurst, J., Spalinger, D., & Frair, J. (2022). Foraging and habitat limitations for moose in the Adirondack Park, New York . Alces: Journal Devoted to the Biology & Management of Moose, 58, 1–30.

Return of the moose. Earth Island Journal. (n.d.). https://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/articles/entry/return-of-the-moose/#:~:text=The%20Adirondacks%20region%20is%20welcoming,sightings%20continue%20to%20be%20elusive.&text=JIM%20STICKLES%2C%20A%20BIG%20GAME,Adirondacks%2C%20outside%20his%20annual%20surveys.

Data

Adirondack Park Agency GIS Data (21 March, 2024) 1993 ADK Park Boundary Shapefile  https://apa.ny.gov/gis/ApaData.html 

New York State GIS Clearinghouse (20 March, 2024) 2022 DEC Hiking Trails Download https://data.gis.ny.gov/datasets/ab5d56644a404b41bac8d72f32017e4e_1/about

NRCS Geospatial Data Gateway (20 March, 2024) 2019 NLCD NYS, Raster Download  https://datagateway.nrcs.usda.gov/GDGHome_CheckOrder.aspx 

NRCS Geospatial Data Gateway (21 March, 2024) 2009 NRCS Counties by State, Shapefile Download  https://datagateway.nrcs.usda.gov/GDGHome_CheckOrder.aspx 

USGS Earth Explorer (4 April, 2024) 2023 Landsat 8-9 Product Bundle, ID: LC08_L1TP_015029_20230706_20230717_02_T1, LC08_L1TP_015030_20230706_20230717_02_T1,  https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/ 

Images/Video

Adirondack Habitats: Mixed forest along the Heron Marsh Trail. (2012). Paul Smiths College. Retrieved from https://www.adirondackvic.org/HeronMarsh.html.

Adirondack Moose survey. YouTube. (2023, January 31). https://youtu.be/US_aYSBrq_E?si=l4a7Cz7tNTqA9H7c

Adirondack Wetlands: Heron Marsh north from the floating bridge. (2013). Adirondacks Forever Wild. Retrieved from https://wildadirondacks.org/woods-and-waters-trail.html.

Aerial View Landscape Adirondacks. (n.d.). Adobe Stock. Retrieved from https://stock.adobe.com/search?k=adirondack+aerial&asset_id=278429674.

Citizen scientists learn how to conduct a mountain goat survey during a High Country Citizen Science training. (2020). National Park Service. Retrieved from https://www.nps.gov/rlc/crown/citizen-science.htm.

Corridors and Connectivity. (n.d.). USDA National Agroforesrty Center. Retrieved from https://www.fs.usda.gov/nac/buffers/guidelines/2_biodiversity/3.html.

Hannon, A. (n.d.). Citizens Scientists Play Key Role in Tracking Bighorn Sheep. The Durango Herald. Retrieved from https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/citizen-scientists-play-key-role-in-tracking-bighorn-sheep/.

Lemmo, G. (n.d.). The Black Bear. Adirondack.net.

Loon. (n.d.-a). Adirondack Mountain Land. Retrieved from https://adirondackmtland.com/adirondack-wildlife-an-overview/.

Moose. (n.d.). Great Sacandaga Lake. Retrieved from https://www.visitsacandaga.com/moose/.

New York Moose Project Team . (n.d.). New York Moose. Retrieved from https://ny-moose.weebly.com/.

 Schuman, M. (n.d.). Mount Jo, Adirondack Mountains. Go World Travel Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.goworldtravel.com/summer-in-the-adirondacks/.

Slater, S. (2021). Moose scat with foot. Yukon Wildlife Preserve. Retrieved from https://yukonwildlife.ca/wildlife/whats-that-scat/.

Swimming beaver. (n.d.-b). Adirondack Mountain Land. Retrieved from https://adirondackmtland.com/adirondack-wildlife-an-overview/.

Templar, R. (n.d.-a). Male moose enters body of water. Adirondack.net. Retrieved from https://www.adirondack.net/wildlife/moose/.

Tourists on summit in the Adirondacks. (n.d.). Adirondack Council. Retrieved from https://www.adirondackcouncil.org/page/overuse-in-the-adirondack-park-298.html.

 

 

 Male moose enters a body of water where they can often be found cooling down and foraging during summer months