Conservation Northwest updates
Kit McGurn Outreach associate,
kmcgurn@conservationnw.org
Nooks & crannies, central cascades
The faces and places
of wildlife monitoring
Wildlife monitoring volunteers in the central Cascades.
Those acquainted with Conservation Northwest���s Citizen Wildlife Monitoring Project know we search for Northwest wildlife every spring, summer, fall���heading out even
during the cold, wet winter months.
Our monitoring volunteers wield remote cameras and winter tracking skills to find and document wildlife from the common���elk, bobcat, cougar, and marten, to the rare���wolverine,
lynx, and wolves. Over the years, we���ve taken thousands of wildlife photos, molding our understanding of the Northwest and
influencing wildlife management and preservation in the state.
Our goal from day one has been to put a face not just to the
animals, but also to Washington���s landscapes. Where do they
live and where do they move to? With each photo gained, we
document another piece of the puzzle.
The picture that emerges is far from the scenic but static
images you���ll see on dusty gas station postcards in the towns
ringing our public lands. What leaps forward is a state alive
and vibrant with wildlands and wildlife. Every image captured
by a remote camera tells of resilient landscapes persisting, recovering, and becoming wilder.
Wildlife in a ���hot��� corridor
While our monitoring teams deploy around the state, a major focus of our program is the central Washington Cascades.
The central Cascades extend roughly from the southern end
of North Cascades National Park and its wetter forests to the
northern edge of Highway 12 at Mount Rainier and the dryer
forest flanking the east side of the Cascade Crest.
The central Cascades of Washington and the OkanoganWenatchee National Forest are a hot spot for animals, or more
accurately, a hot corridor. These places encompass the all-important Snoqualmie Pass and Interstate 90. As conservation
associate Jen Watkins, who heads up our connected habitats
campaign, is fond of saying: ���For wildlife, if the North Cascades were your bedroom and the south Cascades your kitchen, the I-90 corridor is the hallway.���
The geologically rugged central Cascades feature mixed
conifer forests, alder bottoms, deciduous streamsides, and
small towns along the major highways. The conditions are
right for wildlife. Lots of relatively intact habitat both up high
and down low in the foothills of the Cascades supply plenty
of food for prey and space for predators as both work their
delicate balancing act. The central Washington Cascades are
summer 2012 images, left to right Black bear and cub visit a monitoring station in the Chiwaukum, mountain goat on the high snows at
Icicle Creek, ���dancing��� elk in the Manastash, and monitoring volunteer Andrea Frangi and Conservation Northwest���s Jen Watkins
enroute to placing a remote camera in the Taneum. Conservation Northwest
Support wildlife by
sponsoring a monitoring
team. Go online to
conservationnw.org/
monitoring or call us at
800.878.9950 x10.
18
Fall 2012
www.conservationnw.org
