Report warns of climate threat to Minn. big game
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By STEVE KARNOWSKI
Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Conservationists warn that climate change threatens big game animals that call Minnesota home -- from moose to deer to bears.
A new report from the National Wildlife Federation says climate change is already having significant impacts on big game and habitat across the country.
The study's author, Doug Inkley, says Minnesota's moose are the "poster child" of how climate change is affecting big game. The moose population in northwestern Minnesota has nearly died out while it has fallen precipitously in the northeast part of the state.
Inkley and Leslie McInenly, big game program leader with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, say even highly adaptable species including deer and bears are at risk. They cite the threats from diseases, drought and habitat changes that a warmer climate could bring.
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