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Thread: BC Moose Tracker mobile app

  1. #1
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    Apr 2015
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    The power of 40,000 moose hunters in BC

    There's about 40,000 moose hunters in BC out on the land every year putting in the hours and learning about the moose in the area they hunt. Hunters will know the patch of ground they hunt year after year more intimately than government biologists ever will, but finding a way to harness the knowledge of all those hunters isn't easy. The BC Moose Tracker app is a citizen science based approach to collecting information on moose population trends. The collective power of hunter observations is huge and this is one step towards engaging hunters in moose population monitoring. In the last 2 years less than 3% of moose hunters in BC used the app, we can do better!
    Here’s a few things you can do to help BC wildlife bios better understand the moose populations you hunt:
    1. Download the app for iOS or Android phones and tablets (you can find links to the downloads here: www.gov.bc.ca/wildlifehealth/moosetracker )
    2. Use the app. Whenever you’re in the field hunting moose record the number of hours you’re out and how many moose you see. We only record data at the Management Unit level, so there’s no worry of anyone finding out where your favorite spots are. Even if you’re out of cell service the data will upload to our server when you get back into service.
    3. Tell your friends. More users = more data, and with more data we get more reliable results. Please tell your hunting companions and others that would be interested.
    4. Ask questions. If you have any questions about using the app or want to request the summary report from the first few years of the app please write to moosetracker@gov.bc.ca

    Last edited by alcesgigantes; 09-09-2019 at 02:31 PM.

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  3. #2
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    Re: BC Moose Tracker mobile app

    I have used it for the last few years. Submit reports often, I hope it helps
    "If you ever go into the bush, there are grizzly bears lurking behind just about every bush, waiting to pounce, so you need a powerful gun, with huge bullets" - Gatehouse ~ 2004

  4. #3
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    Re: BC Moose Tracker mobile app

    Found it a couple weeks back and started using it, can't see any good reason not to.

  5. #4
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    Re: BC Moose Tracker mobile app

    Would it help if deer hunters entered their moose sightings? The time data would not be as valid as I’m not specifically looking for moose, but I’m into a couple of spots that have moose around.
    If we’re not supposed to eat animals, how come they’re made out of meat?

    BHA, BCWF, CCFR, PETA, Lever Action Addict.

  6. #5
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    Re: BC Moose Tracker mobile app

    That's interesting!thanks for posting

  7. #6
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    Re: BC Moose Tracker mobile app

    Quote Originally Posted by Iron Sighted View Post
    Found it a couple weeks back and started using it, can't see any good reason not to.
    Could they use the data to consider reducing moose pops in caribou habitat areas like the gov has done before to try and get wolves to move elsewhere?

    It seems their stance on moose management and caribou management are at odds.

  8. #7
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    Re: BC Moose Tracker mobile app

    hopefully they get good data...its not the same as asking a fisherman how big their fish was that got away...heheheh

  9. #8
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    Re: BC Moose Tracker mobile app

    Quote Originally Posted by Redthies View Post
    Would it help if deer hunters entered their moose sightings? The time data would not be as valid as I’m not specifically looking for moose, but I’m into a couple of spots that have moose around.
    I've been doing that for 2 years now, all seasons too. It asks what region and what you saw in the time you were out. Can't have too much info!
    Take a kid hunting its more rewarding than shooting an animal yourself!!

  10. #9
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    Re: BC Moose Tracker mobile app

    I got on board the other day. Having the maps with MU boundaries & Hunting Synopsis built in are great features. Didn't delve too deep into it yet, but why not make it so anyone can report a sighting, not just hunters? Same question as Steelco. So if I'm hunting deer in Region 8 prior to spike moose opening season, is there a way to enter a sighting, even though I'm not specifically hunting moose at the time? Perhaps I missed that feature since I haven't played around with the app much yet?

  11. #10
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    Re: BC Moose Tracker mobile app

    Quote Originally Posted by mike31154 View Post
    I got on board the other day. Having the maps with MU boundaries & Hunting Synopsis built in are great features. Didn't delve too deep into it yet, but why not make it so anyone can report a sighting, not just hunters? Same question as Steelco. So if I'm hunting deer in Region 8 prior to spike moose opening season, is there a way to enter a sighting, even though I'm not specifically hunting moose at the time? Perhaps I missed that feature since I haven't played around with the app much yet?
    The app is focused primarily on moose hunters as they are specifically out in areas where one would expect to find moose and are actively looking for moose. That being said you can enter data year round regardless of what you're doing.

    The key is the more people entering data consistently the better the data is. With a big enough sample size, over time the the results will be consistent as an index of what's happening in the population. For example the results from the app will be better as an index of relative changes in the population (ie. bull:cow ratio increase or decrease), but may not be as accurate in the specific numbers that would be found in aerial surveys. Let's say in one year an aerial moose survey finds 60 bulls: 100 cows and 5 years later finds 30 bulls : 100 cows, while the results from the app reported 80 bulls : 100 cows in the first year and 40 bulls : 100 cows in the 5th year. The relative change in the bull:cow ratio is the same (decline by 50% in the bull:cow ratio) in both ways of measuring the data, but likely the aerial survey is more accurate. The hope is that with enough hunters reporting their sightings that the results from the app and an aerial survey would end up giving very similar results.

    The app will never replace the need for aerial surveys of moose for estimating population size, but there are lots of areas that don't get surveyed very often and the sightings from hunters can help biologists identify the need for a closer look at those populations.

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