Moose don’t have a future in New York, says retired state biologist

Wildlife expert and former DEC biologist Al Hicks shares insights gained over his career

By Mike Lynch

Retired wildlife biologist Al Hicks spent three decades working as a state wildlife biologist, investigating mountain lion sightings, bat declines, and issues involving endangered animals. 

For most of that time, he was lead mammal specialist on the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s endangered species unit. That meant he was around when moose started to make a comeback but also when bats started their drastic population decline in 2007 due to white-nose syndrome, a white fungus that ultimately causes bats to starve during their winter hibernations. 

On June 25, Hicks shared stories from his work and insights on the decline of animals at a presentation at the office for the Lake George Land Conservancy, a nonprofit land trust in Bolton Landing. The biggest impact on wildlife populations is always a result of human actions, he told the audience, whether through the creation of DDT, a compound and insecticide which wiped out bald eagle populations, or the overhunting of animals such as the passenger pigeons, which became extinct in North America in the 19th century. 

“When I started … many of the species were in decline because of direct human action: overhunting, overfishing, either commercially or recreationally, and so you can address those by changing people’s behaviors, or appropriate legislation,” he said. 

Below are Hick’s thoughts on a number of issues from his talk and interviews with the Explorer. 

Moose don’t have a future in New York

Moose disappeared from New York State around the turn of the 20th century due to overhunting and the loss of habitat. They started returning to the Adirondacks in the 1980s as populations expanded west from Maine to New Hampshire, Vermont and eventually northern New York. But despite the return, Hicks said he always thought their future was bleak in this state. “I caught some heat for suggesting this, that long-term, moose don’t have a chance in the state of New York,” he said. “The reason is climate change.” Moose are adapted for cold climates, and they also struggle when their habitat overlaps with deer. With climate change and less snow, deer populations are now sharing habitat with moose in northern regions. When this happens, the deer spread diseases to the moose through parasites. These parasites often don’t impact deer but they can be fatal to moose. 

How did the bat decline impact insects? 

Hundreds of thousands of bats have died as a result of white-nose syndrome since it was discovered in New York state in 2007. However, Hicks said the consequences of losing that many bats on the insect population, which bats feed upon, wasn’t well understood at the outbreak and still isn’t. He said part of the reason is there are 15,000 species of insects and there was just one state entomologist at the time. “When the bats declined, did harmful insects suffer a 70% increase? We have no idea. None,” he said. “We do know that they’re part of the cog, and any machine that you have, if you keep taking parts out and throwing them away, eventually the machines aren’t gonna work anymore.”

Hicks also mentioned that despite the loss of bats, the insect population has also apparently plummeted. He illustrated this fact by showing a photo of the windshield of his vehicle after a long-distance drive. Hardly, any splattered bugs could be seen. “I drove 1,851 miles from Larkspur, Colorado to West Sand Lake, New York, intentionally never turning the windshield wipers on to see what I would have,” he said. “Are there as many insects in the world as there were when I was growing up? I don’t think so.”

The mirage of a mountain lions

As part of his job, Hicks would take calls about possible mountain lion sightings. However, the people reporting the animals never backed up their claims with evidence, he said. “If you had a mountain lion in New York, there would be really good, positive, absolute physical evidence,” he said. Often, the sightings turned out to be house cats, he said.  

But there has been at least one valid sighting. It occurred in December of 2010, three months after Hicks retired, on a day he happened to be at a relative’s house in the Lake George region. Less than a mile away on that same day, a retired DEC conservation officer and his wife spotted a mountain lion in their backyard. Photos of tracks and hairs from the animal were gathered and tested confirming the animal’s presence. The following June that same animal was hit by a car and killed in Connecticut. Scientists later determined the mountain lion had made its way from the Black Hills to the East Coast. “This mountain lion, that was the only confirmed record in the hard time I worked for the department, and it happened a couple months after I retired,” he said. 

While Hicks said he never discounted the possibility of their being a mountain lion in New York because it could be an escaped pet or a wild animal which had dispersed from another region, he never believed there was a population in New York. 

Less skeptical about wolves

When it comes to predators, Hicks said there’s a greater chance of a wolf travelling through New York than a mountain lion because they know populations in places like Canada. 

“They cover more ground (than cougars), and so the likelihood of a wolf wandering down from Algonquin Provincial Park is higher than a mountain lion wandering in from the Black Hills of South Dakota,” he said. 

A favorite animal: Allegany woodrats

Hicks described how wildlife biologists, including himself, had an affinity for Allegheny woodrats, a species that scientists believe lived in downstate New York as long as 20,000 years ago but went extinct in the 1980s. Their decline was believed to have been caused by parasites they picked up in racoon feces.

One of the reasons for his fondness of the woodrat was their inquisitive and friendly nature. “Woodrats are about the easiest animal in the world to catch if they’re around,” he said. “In that sense, very cooperative in terms of, if you wanted to put a radio collar on one.”

Hicks recalled how his friend that was trapping bats in West Virginia had a mother and two pups climb into his lap. The animals then proceeded to try to take the buttons of his shirt. 

“The fact that they were sitting in the lap of a creature that was 100 times bigger than they were didn’t phase them a bit. So, yeah, they’re really cool, really cool.” 

The importance of climate legislation

Hicks repeatedly mentioned the impact climate change has on wildlife populations. In retirement, Hicks volunteers to help with bat studies but mainly his free time is focused on volunteering with the Citizen’s Climate Lobby, a nonprofit advocacy organization focused on influencing the nation’s climate policy. “Political action is the only thing that will work… Your actions are nice. I have an electric car. I do everything that I can, but it means nothing compared to legislation,” he said.