Moose on the Palouse? It may not seem like prime habitat, but they’re there

The expansive ocean of wheat and other crops that make up the Palouse may not seem like moose habitat, but if you look in the brushy folds, you will find them.

Matt Brinkman, a district wildlife biologist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, said the animals are increasingly present. He suspects they moved in from Idaho or places like Mica Peak and Tekoa Mountain and found the riparian areas along creeks and rivers to their liking.

“They get in these riparian corridors and find themselves in the middle of wheat country and there’s no competition, no other moose and they have the pick of food to eat,” he said. “We are getting more and more reports of moose in the Palouse.”

It is common for them to spend time in rural yards, often under the shade of apple trees. Moose favor woody plants like willows which can be found along creeks and rivers that carve their way through the rolling dune-like hills of the Palouse.

“It shows moose are more adaptable than we give them credit for,” he said.

Brinkman said Unit 139 in Whitman County is a recent addition to the Hangman Moose Hunt area. Most people who draw permits hunt farther north in Unit 127 near Mica Peak.