Of course it's climate change-related. Oh wait... the Northeast had the coldest winter on record this past season, Massachusetts had the highest recorded snowfall on record, so surely the fact that these ticks multiplying exponentially is because the winter was too warm.
Myopia is rampant. I'm not saying climate change isn't occurring - you'd need to be a dolt or blind to dismiss it. But the convenience of laziness to draw these conclusions is troublesome.
>>>In the past, after long New England winters that lasted well into April, the ticks would jump off moose, hit spring snow, and die, says Kristine Rines, moose project leader for New Hampshire Fish and Game.
But warmer, shorter winters means those ticks are more likely to land on bare, snowless ground, which lets them live another day—and possibly flourish.<<<
But.....we just....had....the coldest, snowiest winter.... on....record.....that lasted...well into.....April....
Surely if
that's the reason, the overwhelming majority of ticks jumped off the moose and died 2 months ago.
So which is it?