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Colorado’s July Final Draft Proposed Continued Growth for Two Southwestern Moose Herds

Two moose among yellow wildflowers near Gunnison, Colorado
Conservation · Management

Colorado Parks and Wildlife presented a final draft on 17 July 2026 that proposed continued growth in the state’s two southwestern moose (Alces alces) herds. Together, the M-4 and M-12 units held an estimated 650 animals, about 19% of Colorado’s statewide moose population.

Growth without a fixed population ceiling

M-4 was estimated at about 500 moose. Rather than setting a fixed upper population target, CPW proposed maintaining an increasing herd while watching for signs that habitat or public tolerance had reached a limit. The agency says it lacks an efficient inventory method and does not run a population model for M-4, so management would instead draw on body and reproductive condition, observed trends, damage to riparian vegetation, conflict reports, distribution and harvest information. Additional hunting licences could be used as the herd expands or conflicts rise.

The M-12 herd in the Sawatch Range was estimated at 125–175 animals and was given the same preferred direction: an increasing population. CPW likewise did not propose a conventional numerical population objective because reliable inventory and modelling methods are lacking. Harvest information, habitat condition and the level of human–moose conflict or tolerance would therefore remain important guides for annual licence decisions.

Bull age and antlers provide another management signal

Both plans proposed keeping harvested bulls at an average age of four to six years with average antler spread above 40 inches. This gives managers a measurable indicator of the mature-bull component even when the total population cannot be estimated precisely. Riparian willow habitats are especially important in both units, and the plans identify excessive browsing, development, roads, recreation, invasive plants, disease and a warmer, drier climate among the pressures that could constrain future growth.

M-4 also overlaps the Brunot Agreement area, where members of the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute tribes retain hunting rights; CPW describes annual coordination and harvest reporting as part of this cooperative management arrangement. The July document was presented to the Parks and Wildlife Commission for final review and comment, and CPW’s current management page now lists the Southwest Colorado plan as finalized after formal approval in September 2026.

Sources and image credit

  1. Colorado Parks and Wildlife. (2026). Southwest Region Moose Herd Management Plans — July 2026 final draft presented to the Parks and Wildlife Commission on 17 July 2026.Primary management-plan document. M-4 was estimated at about 500 moose and M-12 at 125–175; both preferred alternatives called for increasing populations while using habitat, conflict and harvest indicators because reliable inventory/model methods are unavailable.
  2. Parks and Wildlife Commission Meeting: September 2-3, 2026Official commission record listing the Southwest Moose Herd Management Plan on the September consent agenda; CPW's current moose-management page lists Southwest Colorado among finalized plans.

Image: Larry Lamsa / Flickr / Wikimedia Commons — two moose photographed on Ohio Creek Road near Gunnison, Colorado, on 23 August 2021. Representative Colorado habitat image; not animals specifically documented in the 2026 Southwest Region herd management plan. · CC BY 2.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ · Source

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