Moose Management and Ancient Ecology in the Southern Rockies
- IPWA
- Dec 22, 2025
- 2 min read
By Cynthia Girand (IPWA Volunteer and Education & Outreach Coordinator)
Are moose native to the Colorado Rockies? Are they invasive? How should the answers to these questions shape management where moose have degraded wetlands and where moose–human conflict is growing?
These questions were at the heart of last month’s panel discussion: Moose Management and Ancient Ecology in the Southern Rockies, hosted in Estes Park by the Center for the American West and the CU Museum of Natural History.
Archaeologists, Indigenous community members, National Park Service staff, state wildlife managers, and local residents are working to develop management practices that balance ecological health, cultural values, and visitor safety.
While the public narrative often leans toward the idea that moose are non‑native to Colorado, archaeological evidence suggests that moose have a historic presence here. It is important to ask: what makes a species native? Perceptions of nativeness shift with our perspectives and our moment in time, and “non‑native” has often been shorthand for “harmful” or “threatening.” A species can also be considered native and still behave invasively under certain conditions.
Whatever answers emerge, species are moving through a rapidly changing world, and land and wildlife managers must allow space for these shifts while protecting fragile ecosystems. The legal categories of native, non‑native, and invasive matter for policy and funding, but effective management also has to reckon with on‑the‑ground ecological realities.
In the southern Rockies—particularly Rocky Mountain National Park, just north of the Indian Peaks Wilderness—a team of researchers, land managers, and Indigenous partners is working toward a plan that will support a future for moose while reducing human–moose conflict and sustaining wetland vegetation.
Watch the full recording of the panel discussion here:
To learn more, read our blog post on moose conflicts and safety: https://www.indianpeakswilderness.org/post/moose-conflicts-on-the-rise-in-the-wilderness-and-nearby-communities
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