Question Period Note: Cape Breton Moose Population Reduction

Cape Breton Moose Population Reduction

• In managing national parks, Parks Canada maintains or restores ecological integrity, and provides Canadians with opportunities to discover and enjoy these treasured places.
• Parks Canada is committed to ensuring the long-term health of the boreal forest in Cape Breton Highlands National Park.
• Cape Breton Highlands National Park has worked with the Mi’kmaq and provincial partners to implement a five-year pilot project to restore the boreal forest in response to over-browsing from hyper-abundant moose.
• The project included moose reduction measures in a 202 kilometre area of the park which ended in November 2018, planting tree seedlings, and building fences to prevent moose from over-browsing young trees.
• The pilot project resulted in a positive impact on vegetation with a decrease in browsed twigs and over 57,000 trees planted.
• No further moose population reduction activities are being considered at this time.
• Parks Canada will continue to monitor the state of the boreal forest with its partners to inform future management decisions in Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

• The moose population in Cape Breton Highlands National Park has been high since the late 1990s—much higher than a healthy forest could typically support. The hyper-abundant moose population contributed to the significant decline of the forests in the national park as new saplings were unable to grow and provide shade and shelter for a variety of forest species.
• Parks Canada’s Bring Back the Boreal pilot project, which recently concluded, on March 31, 2019, was a positive step in restoring the health of this important ecosystem by planting tree seedlings, reducing the moose population in a 20 km2 area on North Mountain, and building fences to prevent moose from over-browsing young growing trees. The moose meat from the harvest has been distributed to the Mi’kmaq in Nova Scotia, with oversight by the Kwilmu'kw Maw-klusuaqn Negotiation Office (KMKNO). Hides and other materials were used by Mi'kmaw to make clothing and other traditional items. Parks Canada has seen a positive impact on vegetation. Preliminary results are promising, with a statistically significant decrease in browsed twigs and over 57,000 trees planted as a result of the project.
• A 2019 moose population survey of the highlands of Cape Breton, including Cape Breton Highlands National Park, was led by the Nova Scotia Department of Lands and Forestry and conducted in partnership with Parks Canada, the Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources and the Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq.
• The survey is showing a decrease in the moose population across Cape Breton and within the national park. The latest population estimate puts the moose density in the national park at 0.5 moose per square km, which is considered a healthy, sustainable population. This is a positive development for the health of Cape Breton Highlands National Park’s forests.
• Parks Canada will be analyzing the data from the 2019 survey results for the Cape Breton Highlands moose population survey over the next year.
• Several factors could have caused the moose population to fluctuate. For example, harsh winters could lead to higher winter mortality, there could be lower than usual calving, or less food available as a result of the hyper-abundance of moose within the park. It could be a combination of these factors, as well as some unknown factors.
• There was no moose harvest in the national park in 2019 and, based on the results of the latest moose survey, further moose population reduction activities will not be considered at this time. The next moose population survey will build on the important data that was collected in this year’s moose survey and help determine the overall trends in the moose population.
• Parks Canada will continue to monitor the moose population within the national park with our partners, including the Mi’kmaq of Nova Scotia and Nova Scotia Department of Lands and Forestry.
• The moose population in Cape Breton Highlands National Park has been high since the late 1990s—much higher than a healthy forest could typically support. The hyper-abundant moose population contributed to the significant decline of the forests in the national park as new saplings were unable to grow and provide shade and shelter for a variety of forest species.
• Parks Canada’s Bring Back the Boreal pilot project, which recently concluded, on March 31, 2019, was a positive step in restoring the health of this important ecosystem by planting tree seedlings, reducing the moose population in a 20 km2 area on North Mountain, and building fences to prevent moose from over-browsing young growing trees. The moose meat from the harvest has been distributed to the Mi’kmaq in Nova Scotia, with oversight by the Kwilmu'kw Maw-klusuaqn Negotiation Office (KMKNO). Hides and other materials were used by Mi'kmaw to make clothing and other traditional items. Parks Canada has seen a positive impact on vegetation. Preliminary results are promising, with a statistically significant decrease in browsed twigs and over 57,000 trees planted as a result of the project.
• A 2019 moose population survey of the highlands of Cape Breton, including Cape Breton Highlands National Park, was led by the Nova Scotia Department of Lands and Forestry and conducted in partnership with Parks Canada, the Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources and the Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq.
• The survey is showing a decrease in the moose population across Cape Breton and within the national park. The latest population estimate puts the moose density in the national park at 0.5 moose per square km, which is considered a healthy, sustainable population. This is a positive development for the health of Cape Breton Highlands National Park’s forests.
• Parks Canada will be analyzing the data from the 2019 survey results for the Cape Breton Highlands moose population survey over the next year.
• Several factors could have caused the moose population to fluctuate. For example, harsh winters could lead to higher winter mortality, there could be lower than usual calving, or less food available as a result of the hyper-abundance of moose within the park. It could be a combination of these factors, as well as some unknown factors.
• There was no moose harvest in the national park in 2019 and, based on the results of the latest moose survey, further moose population reduction activities will not be considered at this time. The next moose population survey will build on the important data that was collected in this year’s moose survey and help determine the overall trends in the moose population.
• Parks Canada will continue to monitor the moose population within the national park with our partners, including the Mi’kmaq of Nova Scotia and Nova Scotia Department of Lands and Forestry.

Question Period notes as provided by the Department to the Minister’s Office