Lakehead University / Canadian Forest Service
With funding from the Northern Ontario Development Agreement, the Faculty of Forestry at Lakehead University engaged ESSA to develop a computer simulation model to predict the effects of timber management on moose habitat and populations. Historically, most moose modelling work had focused on simulating the effects of management actions on habitat. In Ontario, however, it was thought that habitat was not the dominant influence on moose populations levels. Models which predict only effects on habitat were therefore inadequate for resource managers charged with managing moose populations.
The ESSA team developed a model which translates habitat information into energetics information and then uses these data to assess the effects on moose populations. The model also simulates direct effects on moose populations such as hunting and predation. The habitat and population models are linked to a spatial timber supply model to allow forest and wildlife managers to explore the effects of various management actions on moose populations.