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One wintry morning each February, nearly 200 nature enthusiasts cover 240,000-plus acres on foot, skis or by car.
No matter the means, the goal is the same: to count as many moose as possible.
The annual event, since 2009, is a partnership between Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation, which hosts the count, and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, whose biologists later verify the data. The count comes at a time when the moose population has faced a steep decline in recent decades.
“This community-powered moose count really helps fill important gaps that help provide a clearer picture of how many moose are on the landscape, where they are and how the population is doing over time,” said Zoe Ward, the foundation’s nature mapping coordinator.
The extra data supplement Game and Fish biologist’s aerial maps. Volunteers cover areas a helicopter would otherwise miss and a scale too large for an individual biologist on the ground.
“Citizen scientists are also key in helping us monitor health issues, such as signs of Elaeophora infection, indicated by cropped ears or hair loss caused by winter ticks,” said Raegin Akhtar, the department’s public information and education specialist.
Those partaking in the count use binoculars while also recording the estimated age and sex of the moose.
Locals-turned-scientists
Hosted Feb. 21, this year was the 17th annual moose count. It’s also Jackson resident Lacey O’Sullivan’s first year participating. (O’Sullivan is also a volunteer DJ with KHOL. – Ed.)
The Bentwood Inn’s catalouha leopard dog, Bailey, joins innkeepers Lacey O’Sullivan and Alex Greco on their moose count outing in and around Wilson. (Jenna McMurtry / KHOL).
With her boyfriend Alex Greco, O’Sullivan runs the Bentwood Inn, east on Highway 390 from Wilson, an area that’s also a known moose hotspot.
“In the summertime, especially, we have moose because we have a lot of willow,” O’Sullivan said. “And people just watch them from out the windows.”
The couple was tasked with two zones in Wilson, one just to the south of town in the area known as Fish Creek and the other a short walk from the inn. The 66 other survey zones span both sides of the Tetons, from the Idaho border over Teton Pass to the Gros Ventre mountains and the southern part of Grand Teton National Park.
After the first two hours, the innkeepers thought they had struck out. Despite the couple’s best effort, no moose were spotted near the inn that morning.
The continent’s second largest herbivores were instead paying the nearby ski resort a visit. That’s where another group of counters spotted four moose a 10-minute drive north.
But then, right before the morning count wrapped up, O’Sullivan and Greco’s luck turned for the better when they took a look at their second zone.
“It was very exciting because we ended up seeing two moose in Fish Creek,” O’Sullivan said. “They were munching on some grass in the water.”
Moose on the loose… and on the decline
After taking zoomed-in photos from the comfort and safe distance of their car, the couple joined the post-moose count lunch at Billy’s Burgers in town.
That’s also where the Wildlife Foundation’s Ward took in initial reports from the 155 registered volunteers, a new record for the count.
Snapshots from Jackson Hole Wildlife’s 2025 Moose Day report. Though the annual moose counts have seen increases, the general population has dwindled to less than 350 since the 1990s’ high of an estimated 1,000. (Jackson Hole Wildlife)
At 87 reported moose sightings, Ward said this year’s preliminary count is also up from last. But that number doesn’t reflect the overall trend or weather events in recent years, like in 2024, that curbed sightings.
“By the 1990s, the population was relatively large. Game and Fish winter surveys were counting around a thousand moose,” Ward said, noting that number could be an underestimate. “Unfortunately, the population experienced a pretty dramatic decline in the early 2000s.”
The last decade and a half saw those numbers flatten out, but still remain much lower than the peak reached before the decline, Ward added.
The moose counted this year, she said, make up a quarter of the nearly 400 that are thought to call the region home, half the number wildlife biologists would like to see.
“That shows about a 70 percent decline from the 90s,” Ward said.
What’s behind the downturn?
There are many theories behind the steep dropoff in recent decades.
For one, Ward points to the regional reintroduction of moose predators, like wolves in the 1990s. Since then, grizzly populations have also stabilized.
But changes to the climate and environment have also played a role.
In the last 75 years, average spring nights in Jackson Hole have warmed by 3 degrees Fahrenheit, according to a University of Wyoming study.
“Warmer temperatures are also a big factor,” Ward said. “Moose are highly adapted to cold climates.”
Increased human development and large wildfires, such as the 1988 Yellowstone Fires, have also contributed to habitat shrinkage, according to Ward.
Collisions with cars are another hindrance. Last fall, at least three moose died in collisions on the highway outside the Inn.
Nature enthusiasts unite
The count does more than collect data for Game and Fish. It also brings together a wide range of nature enthusiasts.
This year’s group included a high school class, local biologists and visitors coming from all over the country, some as far as Kentucky, Salt Lake City, and Idaho Falls and Rexburg, Idaho.
The reach of the count is a reminder that caring for the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, and its beloved flora and fauna, isn’t reserved for professionals.
“It’s a really great example of how community science can directly support wildlife management,” Ward said.
The public doesn’t have to wait until next winter for more counts. This summer, the foundation will conduct its second high-alpine pika survey.
