Algonquin Park Moose Aerial Inventory 2009

On Friday, December 19, 2008 I had the privilege to attend a Moose Aerial Inventory Workshop which was held at the Algonquin Park Visitor Centre .It was conducted by Algonquin Park Biologist Brad Steinberg, and his assistant Elizabeth McRae. This course was mandatory if you wanted to participate in the 2009 Moose Aerial Inventory in 2009 as an observer. The helicopter that was used was rented from Gateway Helicopters LTD. from North Bay Ontario. Because there where a number of other Aerial Surveys being conducted in the same time frame throughout Ontario there wasn't enough MNR Helicopters available to complete the task. The criteria for conducting the survey is as follows:

 The Crew consisted of the Pilot, a Navigator and 2 other observers in the back seat of the helicopter. The forward observer or navigator is in the front of the helicopter along side the piolot and  is responsible for directing the pilot, and defining search area boundaries for the other observers. The navigator records the flight lines, group locations, and keeps the pilot and observers apprised of the intended search pattern. Accurate in-flight mapping of flight lines and observations is required to insure that all habitat is covered, while avoiding overlapping coverage and double-counts of animals.

                                                                      Inflight equipment

- Clipboards

- Survey data sheets

- Number 2 lead pencils (bring extras)

- Intercom and headsets

- Spare batteries for intercoms

- Pad of writing paper

- Survey forms

Personal gear

- Warm clothing (including hat and gloves)

- Sunglasses (amber tint for overcast days)

- Dark outer layer to minimize reflection on windows

- Watch

- Ear plugs

- Air-sickness pills and bags

Other equipment

- Camera and film

- Tissues

- Window-cleaning bottle and rag

- Tie-down pegs and ropes

- Foam pads to sit on in plane

Survival gear

- First Aid kit (should include 3 elastic bandages, 3 triangular bandages, aspirin, clove-oil, antiseptic,

various small bandages, sport tape)

- Thermal reflective blankets or sleeping bags

- Bivouac sack(s)

- Matches (in water-proof container)

- Knife

How The Plots Are Determined In Algonquin Park As Explained By Biologist Brad Steinberg

we have most of the park that is in Wildlife management unit #51 (everything but the panhandle in the south of the
park) divided up into rectangular plots. Each plot is 25km square. Before we survey any plots at all, we divide them up
into plots that we think will have a high density of moose or ones that will have a low density of moose (low is 0-4 and
high is 5 or higher). We use a few ways to figure this out -
A) habitat - we use a computer model that looks at the forest type and whether there will be lots of winter browse and
cover, and that helps predict where good moose habitat is.
B) water coverage - some plots have a lot of water, and there is less habitat for moose.
C) hunted versus unhunted - we expect there to be more moose in unhunted areas
D) road density - areas with lots of roads (especially in the hunted area of the park) will generally have fewer moose.
E) past surveys - if a plot had lots of moose on it the last time we surveyed chances are there are lots of moose still on
it as well.
F) active forestry operations - moose are often attracted to freshly felled trees in the winter because of the extra
browse.

Once we've used all these things to predict where we think moose will be, we randomly pick 20 plots to survey. It is
important that the plots are randomly chosen because if we choose plots we could bias the results and end up with a result
that is too high or too low. We survey the first 20 plots and then analyze the results - then we keep flying until we
have confidence the numbers we are seeing can predict the actual population (this is done with the help of a computer
program).

Once we have confidence in the numbers we can predict the population, and further analyze the population for Bulls, cows
and calves. From this estimate we can make recommendations for harvest numbers (like tag numbers and how many
cows/bulls/calves can be sustainable

The way we survey and analyze the information is pretty standard for moose management in North America.

Below are sample maps that are used to determine the plots that will be inventoried. There are many months of work involved collecting all the data needed to determine the actual plots for the aerial survey. After the survey is concluded all the numbers are collected and an advanced mathematical formula is used to determine the actual number of moose within Algonquin Park I believe the number is a reliability of + or - 25 percent.

Click on each picture below to enlarge it.

Pictures Of Moose and aerial views That Biologist Brad Steinberg took will up in the helicopter during the survey

Below Are Adobe PDF Documents regarding Moose Population Aerial Inventory

( Click on each one to view them )

The day I was observing it was about 35 below zero and the pictures I took didn't turn out as well as I had hoped for because the heater inside the helicopter wouldn't keep the windows clear so I had to keep scrapping the windows off as you will see in my picture gallery album link above.

E-mail from Brad Steinberg regarding this years moose hairloss. I will post the full report once I get it.

Kwey Kwey, and good afternoon everyone, I hope this email finds you and your family well and enjoying the spring rains.
Today we expect the American Woodcock to return to Algonquin from a winter spent in the deep south. (on average it has
returned on April 3rd over the last 30+ years).

P lease find below an update on Hair-Loss in Algonquin Park moose for 2009.

We flew our annual Hair-Loss Survey on March 23rd under beautiful flying conditions.

Special thanks to Andrew Fitch, our pilot who did a superb job. Observers/navigators included myself (Brad Steinberg),
Elizabeth McRae, David Hall and Conservation Officer Tim Eastman.

Unfortunately, there was approximately 20% bare ground, which made finding moose particularly difficult. In almost 4
hours of flying we observed only 25 moose. This included surveying several 2009 Moose Aerial Inventory plots on which we
had observed 20+ moose/plot.
Usually we try to survey at least 50 moose (often closer to 70) to get a respectable sample size.
However, despite the small sample size, I feel we can infer the general tick load of Algonquin Moose this year. The moose we did observe appeared to be in good shape, with only one animal exhibiting ‘moderate’ hair loss, the rest being categorized as ‘light’ or ‘none’. The Hair-loss Severity Index (HSI) was calculated at 1.68, which is lower than the HSI (of over 3) that we have associated with mortality events. Other anecdotal reports from staff who have observed moose indicate that the herd
appears to be in good shape.

This is good news for the Algonquin Park moose herd . If you would like a copy of last years Hair-Loss report, which outlines the protocol and history of the survey, I would be happy to send you one.


All the best,
Brad Steinberg
 

Moose Aerial Surveys View From The Air ( This was not taken in Algonquin Park, but will give you some  idea exactly how hard it is to identify the sex of the Moose.

Click Here To Watch The Video

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