While I'm not 100% sure and am not an entomologist, I believe that the only tick that carry Lyme is the deer tick and the ticks currently impacting moose are "winter tick". I'm not sure of the difference.
I also heard that the reason for the drop in tag count was because of high calf mortality due to stress caused by winter tick. The state manages each separate wildlife management unit for moose for specific numbers. when those numbers are exceeded, it results in many more "moose to car" incidents...often fatal for both parties. They seem to know what they are doing in managing the herd.
I don't imagine the herd will improve until something can be done about the ticks. With limited budget, I think Fish and Game will just have to let nature take its course as it eventually corrects itself. When moose numbers drop to really low...the ticks will begin to lose "hosts" and their numbers will drop and the moose will rebound. I would unscientifically guess this will take several to many years.
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