Rocky Mountain Journal: Breaking: Moose are native to Colorado

Saturday, June 27, 2026

Breaking: Moose are native to Colorado

Its official, moose are native to Colorado! Honestly, I didn’t know this was up for debate, but according to a study published in the Journal of Biogeography earlier this month, moose have lived in the southern Rocky Mountains for centuries, if not longer.

Below is a short introductory video on this research from the University of Colorado Boulder. You can also read a synopsis published by the university. It contains two key passages:

Since being translocated to Colorado, these charismatic megafauna have been a source of both fascination and concern. In Rocky Mountain National Park, where moose populations have thrived, ecosystems have been changing, and moose-associated impacts have sparked renewed conversations about managing an animal labeled “non-native.”

And:

That fact was on Taylor’s mind a few years ago when Rocky Mountain National Park officials began broadly publicizing moose management issues and the discussions that were happening about them. In many of those discussions, Taylor recalls, the messaging frequently labeled moose as “invasive,” “non-native” or “outsiders,” which doesn’t align with the archaeological record and “some of the basic facts I know from my role here working as curator,” he says.