A multi-year study is being initiated by the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department to get a better understanding of moose herd in the state.

There is an increased amount of stress being placed on Northeast moose due to winter ticks (parasites). And, as the spring and fall weather hits, the ticks are becoming more abundant leading to some of the moose dying from loss of blood and hypothermia as they rub off their hair that insulates their bodies trying to get the ticks off themselves.

The Fish & Wildlife Department researchers will begin tagging around 60 moose at the start of January 2017 with radio-collars to track their movements and figure out what is causing their mortality. Wildlife capture contractors will capture the moose with helicopter nets utilizing tactics that reduce the amount of harm and stress on the animals.

Then the moose will be tracked by department staff for a few years through the GPS tracking collars and by going to the field directly to visit the moose and record their observations.

Moose herds have previously been tracked with the same methods in three other states: New York, New Hampshire and Maine. Vermont will be the fourth state to conduct this type of study.

The researchers are hoping to get a better understanding if the moose calves in Vermont are able to survive to adulthood. During this study period, if any of the moose die, they are trying to figure out the cause to see if it could be due to predators like bears or coyotes, winter ticks or brainworm infections. Researchers will also be examining the females to see if they are able to reproduce successfully and where the young calves go after leaving the side of their mother.

There has been a decrease in Vermont moose — going from around 5,000 individuals in the earlier 2000 years to around 2,200 these days. Most of this decrease in moose population was through the biologists’ efforts of trying to balance out the herd with available habitat during a time when the moose were thought to be overabundant.

Just one moose is able to consume over 25 pounds of food in a single day with their grazing harming the ecosystems of the forest as well as theirs and other animals’ habitats.

Cedric Alexander, who is Vermont Fish & Wildlife’s lead moose biologist, claimed that decreasing the herd population deliberately through hunting might have additionally helped the animals avoid negative effects of parasites (winter ticks). When moose become overabundant, the ticks tend to spread more quickly, Alexander said. And by deliberately reducing the herd and their impact on the landscape, it’s thought that it also accounted for the lower winter tick rates on the Vermont moose when compared to the Maine or New Hampshire moose.

Fleets are taking the time to invest more in safety and training today than in the past. Fortunately, there are many opportunities to improve fleet and driver safety that are cost-effective tools for trucking businesses and interests to pursue. Improving safety protects drivers, trucks, and the cargo they are carrying. It’s a win for businesses that seek improvement in this area. Below are some of the tools businesses are using to make these improvements.

Cameras

Not only are fleet owners installing cameras in truck cabs to monitor driver fatigue, but they are also using cameras on the exteriors of trucks to help drivers avoid accidents when changing lanes and rear view cameras to assist drivers when backing up.

GPS Tracking

GPS fleet tracking is particularly useful in providing electronic logs for things like the number of miles drivers travel in a day, the number of hours they’re spending behind the wheels, and for monitoring driver behavior (speeding, hard braking, swerving, lane changes, etc.) on the road. This holds drivers accountable for their actions behind the wheel and encourages them to be more safety minded at all times while driving.

Logging the hours drivers spend behind the wheels is not only a matter of compliance with federal laws, but also a matter of ensuring drivers have adequate down time during the day to get the sleep they need to remain safe behind the wheel. While this is no guarantee that drivers will actually sleep during this time, it does help to ensure they have the opportunity to do so.

Active GPS tracking can also assist drivers in avoiding dangerous situations on the road, navigating around unnecessary delays, and even planning routes around weather systems that could prove problematic.

Mechanical Assistance

Some major fleets are testing out on-board technology to help improve safety for drivers. This includes things like lane departure warnings to help drivers avoid drifting off into sleep, brake assist technology, and adaptive cruise control to help trucks automatically adjust to remain a safe distance between vehicles that are ahead of the truck on the road.

Whether it’s a matter of training drivers more thoroughly about company policies or offering new technologies to help drivers stay safe on the road, the more steps businesses take to improve safety, the greater their return on investment should be in terms of lower insurance rates, fewer accidents, fewer citations, better customer relations, and a better overall public image.

Looking to improve the safety of your fleets and drivers? Contact us here at LiveViewGPS at 1-888-544-0494 to learn more about GPS fleet tracking.

A number of car owners have posted about their stolen 90s Subaru models in Portland on Facebook.

One victim, Cindy Huber, who is a resident of Southeast Portland, claims she had a 1993 green Subaru Impreza that was stolen right from her carport sometime between the early hours of Christmas at her apartment complex. She said she went shopping for presents and then visited her family only to come home and find her car missing.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau statistics show that among the top 10 stolen vehicles for 2015 in Oregon,  two are 90s Subaru models: the 1998 Legacy and the 1999 Impreza.

In the past, many of these Subaru models have disappeared from safe residential streets or public places during the daytime with many people watching. Most of the cars were locked.

In 2014, within the first 11 months, there were around 20 stolen Subarus reported in Portland each month. Ninety vanished in December. Most of them were either the Impreza or the Legacy models, according to Sgt. Pete Simpson, Portland Police Bureau spokesman.

Sherwood’s Horizontal Motor Sports works on repair and customization for Subarus. And, according to Steve Hamann who is the co-owner, it’s the older Subaru models that are easiest to steal. He believes it’s because they have a less secure, older key.

He claims that anyone can simply break a window, climb inside the car and use a hammer or other tool to defeat the ignition. The newer models now have a key with an encryption chip, he says.

This encryption supposedly communicates with the car when it’s put inside the ignition. Therefore, you can’t start the car if the code does not match the car’s computer, he says.

For anyone who owns a Subaru or an older car, it’s recommended that you install a  GPS tracking for cars device.  With GPS tracking, you can locate your stolen Subaru in real-time before the thieves have a chance to tear it apart. GPS tracking also helps police officials to make quicker arrests and get your car back to you safely.