8
begun to recover in areas such as the North Cascades, and, since 2005, researchers have identified more than a
dozen individual wolverines. Much is still unknown about these rare and elusive species, and the CWMP is helping
to collect more information.
Though conservation groups have pursued listing the wolverine as Endangered under the Endangered Species Act
at both the federal and state levels, in the fall of 2014, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) published their
final ruling on the listing status for wolverine nationwide, and determined that the species did not warrant federal
protections.
8
In response to the negative finding from USFWS, conservation groups have filed a lawsuit against the
government to continue to pursue protection, citing habitat loss due to climate change and other factors
9
.
Conservation Northwest and other organizations are pushing decision-makers to create state and federal
safeguards for wolverines as they recover across Washington and other parts of the lower 48 states.
Through CWMP monitoring activities, Conservation Northwest will help shape recovery and critical habitat plans
for wolverines in Washington by informing land management decisions, and building upon ongoing research in
the Cascades. Our goals for wolverine monitoring in 2018 were to:
1) Document the presence of wolverines in the southern portion of the North Cascades and the South
Cascades.
2) Expand recent documentation of wolverines on the western side of the North Cascades in the Mount
Baker vicinity where anecdotal reports of sightings and tracks have been made for a number of years.
3) Collect genetic data through hair samples to help identify individual wolverines at all of our wolverine
monitoring locations.
In 2018, our wolverine monitoring continued in numerous established locations as well as several new survey
areas. To ensure that our efforts add to existing research, we focus on locations where definitive documentation
of wolverines is lacking or sparse, and where our collaborators have made specific requests to complement their
efforts. We look forward to providing support and continued collaboration with larger regional studies such as this
one.
CWMP's 2018 wolverine monitoring was bolstered through a collaboration with the Cascades Wolverine Project
(CWP). Headed by wildlife biologists David Moskowitz and Stephanie Williams, the CWP supports wolverine
recovery efforts in the North Cascades. In 2018 they maintained seven field camera installation sites in the
eastern North Cascades to detect wolverines. Through this partnership, their detection data expanded CWMP's
and Wolverine in the Western United States., edited by Leonard F. Ruggiero, Keith B. Aubry, Steven W. Bushkirk, Jack
L. Lyon, and William J. Zielinksi, 99–127. Fort Collins, Colorado, USA: USDA Forest Service Technical Report, 1994.
8
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife December 17, 2013 press release: fws.gov/mountain-
prairie/pressrel/2013/12172013_wolverine.php
9
Federal Agency Ignores Best Available Science in Decision Not To List Wolverine:
http://www.conservationnw.org/news/pressroom/press-releases/federal-agency-ignores-best-available-science-in-
decision-not-to-list-wolverine
