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Canadian conservation allies to ensure that lynx and other wildlife can travel safely and seamlessly across the
border.
Over the past several years, Conservation Northwest has piloted approaches to extend our monitoring efforts into
the transboundary Kettle River and Rossland mountain ranges in Washington and southern British Columbia.
These efforts are aimed at documenting the presence of lynx and collecting genetic information on individuals
outside of ongoing agency research in the Cascade Mountains.
The major objectives for 2018 lynx monitoring in British Columbia were to document the presence of lynx in the
transboundary Kettle River Range between British Columbia and northeast Washington, and to collect genetic
data from hair snags placed at each remote camera installation. Working toward these goals, we aim to increase
our understanding of lynx in this area and their relation to adjacent, better-studied lynx populations in the Rockies
and Cascade Mountains.
We have continued collaborating with Dr. Lui Marinelli and students from Selkirk College in British Columbia, who
maintained three lynx monitoring installations in Rossland Range, B.C. using CWMP cameras. These cameras,
installed in October of each year, run through the winter and provide us with a look at transboundary species
detections north of the border. Additionally, our project volunteers installed and maintained 11 camera
installations on the Washington side of the border, providing support and supplementing a larger lynx monitoring
effort led by Dr. Dan Thornton and his Mammal Spatial Ecology and Conservation Lab at Washington State
University.
METHODOLOGY
The CWMP is a volunteer-based project supported by Conservation Northwest staff, contractors, interns and
other project partners. Though our winter monitoring season includes snow tracking techniques along I-90, the
majority of our work is accomplished through the use of remote, motion-triggered cameras. The use of motion-
triggered cameras represents an easy and verifiable method of documenting wildlife presence and has been used
as a significant, non-invasive research tool in many projects worldwide.
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Additionally, motion-triggered cameras
provide a tangible, low-cost way to engage citizens in wildlife monitoring and conservation. Together, our network
of volunteers and cameras provides invaluable data on the presence of rare and sensitive species. Some of our
camera installations also include devices for collecting hair samples for genetic analysis.
SURVEY AREA SELECTION
At the beginning of each season, we select and prioritize survey areas in collaboration with project partners and
our Advisory Council. Survey areas are selected based on our research objectives with consideration for our
equipment inventory as well as staff and volunteer capacity. Our list of survey areas goes through numerous
23
Masatoshi Yasuda, "Monitoring Diversity and Abundance of Mammals with Camera Traps: A Case Study on
Mount Tsukuba, Central Japan," Mammal Study 29, no. 1 (2004): 37–46.; and Christen Wemmer, Thomas H. Kunz,
and Virginia Hayssen, "Mammalian Sign," in Measuring and Monitoring Biological Diversity., by Don E Wilson et al.
(Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1996).
