Conservation Northwest

13 Over the course of the 2018 field season, our volunteers placed 81 unique camera installations at 36 survey areas throughout the Cascade Mountains and in the Kettle River Mountain Range. Each survey area had between one and seven discreet camera trap installations spread out spatially and/or temporally throughout the survey area. Based on guidance from our Advisory Council we had 15 survey areas targeting wolverine, 13 for gray wolf, two for grizzly bear, three targeting multiple species along I-90, and three survey areas focused on detecting lynx. CAMERA INSTALLATIONS The CWMP follows specific protocols for remote camera installations based on the target species or monitoring activity. The application of scent lure or bait in our project adheres to guidelines established by our Advisory Council. Wildlife use scent markings as important means of communication to establish territories, find mates and prey, assess levels of danger, and interact with other individuals within the same vicinity. 24 Scent lure mimics this natural mode of communication and acts as an attractant, bringing individual wildlife to the remote camera installation. No artificial attractants are used for the I-90 corridor where the proximity of the installation is close to the roadway and we do not want to attract wildlife towards the road. Most installations targeting wolves include motion-triggered cameras secured to trees with scent lure applied nearby. In addition to scent attractants, wolf installations focus on travel patterns, such as junctions between game trails and closed or lightly-traveled roads. Generally, two installations are placed within a designated survey area, which can range in scale. Cameras are moved and new installations established over the course of the year to increase the area surveyed. Installations targeting grizzly bears use a special lure developed by the U.S. Forest Service containing fermented cattle blood and fish oil. This lure is highly attractant to bears and is poured over a large pile of brush and sticks constructed by volunteers maintaining these installations (Appendix III). Cameras are positioned to capture bears as they smell and explore the brush pile and lure. Though these installations do not include hair snares, if grizzly bears are suspected to have visited the installation, volunteers are instructed to collect hair if available. The majority of installations targeting wolverines have a setup conducive to capturing visual documentation of their chest blazes (Appendix IV). These installations, called run-pole stations, are constructed with natural materials on-site. Wolverine run-pole stations include two cameras: a run-pole camera, set directly across from the run pole, and a vicinity camera, off to the side. These cameras are accompanied by bait, strung strategically above the run-pole. The hope is that the wolverine will stand on the run-pole and look up at the bait, allowing the run-pole camera to document its chest blaze. Wild bait (deer, elk, etc., often from road-killed animals) is preferred for these installations. However, in cases where wild bait is unavailable, bait is purchased at butcher shops. In addition to the bait, each installation designated for wolverine detection is equipped with snags for hair collection as well as a scent attractant. Though individual wolverines can be identified visually from chest blaze photographs, DNA analysis provides more detailed information about animals that are detected, such as their relationship to other wolverines in the study area. The hair snag system that the CWMP employs consists of a gun-brush belt with five gun brushes attached horizontally. This belt is attached just below the run-pole around 24 Fredrick V. Schlexer, "Attracting Animals to Detection Devices," in Noninvasive Survey Methods for Carnivores, by Robert A Long (Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 2008).

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