The Quabbin is the largest man-made water reservoir. It is a very important and difficult site to manage, balancing water quality, forest health, etc. With recent increase in the moose population, it is crucial to conduct more research on how the forest dynamics are impacted by moose presence in abundant numbers.

So far, only one or two moose have been radio-collared and monitored for a prolonged period of time. It could be useful to do the same for a greater number of moose and study their distribution and dietary preference in the forest.

As an alternative to deer hunts, a procedure that shows some promise is contraception. It is difficult to contracept wild animals roaming in a large area with present practices, but one should also keep in mind that the only contraception available is for does. If buck contraception can be invented, that would make the process much easier (with fewer number of animals to dart) because each buck is responsible for impregnating up to a dozen does.

If more research is carried out in this field, it might make a hunt avoidable - which would be welcome to the managers at the Quabbin and also to the general public.