Dwindling moose population prompts cut in hunting permits

A moose in the  Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge in Essex County. Photo by David Govatski/USFWS
Vermont’s declining moose population has prompted the state Fish and Wildlife Department to drastically reduce the number of hunting permits to only 13 this year — down from 80 last year, 160 the previous year and 265 in 2015.
The shrinking moose population has largely been attributed to the parasitic winter tick and brainworm. Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Louis Por