Conservationists say two iconic New Hampshire animals – moose and loons – show how climate change will reshape the region in the years to come.

They talked about their latest research – and how they hope people will respond to it – at the Audubon Society in Concord Wednesday night.

It was the same day New Hampshire and Maine set new records for winter warmth. Highs were in the 70s in Concord, and the snowless Mount Washington summit reached 48.

Harry Vogel of the Loon Preservation Committee in Moultonborough calls moose and loons “gateway species” to helping New Englanders understand these changes, and what might still be done.

“If we can get people to care about loons, care about moose, hopefully that’s just the beginning,” he says.

Vogel says loons may not be facing an immediate existential threat in New Hampshire. But he says the birds and their habitats are contaminated with mercury pollution from the burning of fossil fuels.

And he says loons’ nesting, hatching and migrations are threatened by heat, late winters and heavy rainfall.

“We have added climate change to that long list of stressors that are affecting loons here in New Hampshire,” Vogel says. “And, you know, this shouldn’t be a surprise – just like moose, loons are a Northern species. They are close to the southern limit of their breeding range here in New Hampshire.”

But the picture for moose is even more dire, according to longtime New Hampshire Fish & Game moose biologist Kris Rines.