TOWER — The Bois Forte Reservation Tribal Council has decided not to hold a moose hunt on its northeastern Minnesota reservation this fall.

In a statement Friday, the council said it decided to forego a moose season after consulting with tribal elders.

While this winter’s annual survey estimated northeastern Minnesota’s population at 4,350, roughly the same level as it was two years ago, state and tribal biologists say the long-term trend remains a troubling decline.

Tribal Chairman Kevin Leecy said that until the causes are better understood, the tribe wants to be very careful.

Northeastern Minnesota’s two other tribes, the Grand Portage and Fond du Lac bands, haven’t announced their plans yet. All three bands followed the state Department of Natural Resources in canceling their 2013 moose seasons.