119467
Table 8. I-90 Corridor 2012 Citizen Wildlife Monitoring Project remote camera location descriptions.
In 2012, general monitoring along the I-90 corridor east of Hyak was implemented using six cameras in
five sites. Site B was located in forested habitat just north of the Gold Creek underpasses. Sites C and D
were located on the south side of Lake Keechelus and the Gold Creek underpasses in forested habitat on
national forest land. Sites E and F were located just north of the Rocky Run underpass, with site E
directly adjacent to the underpass and site F located in higher quality habitat further from the roadway.
These underpasses were being constructed throughout the season, and even in sites that utilized scent
attractant it was used very sparingly.
Of the five sites, only sites C, D, and E had photographic evidence of wildlife. Site B was installed, but no
data is available beyond that as the camera equipment experienced a series of malfunctions throughout
the season. Volunteers documented scat at the time of install for site F near Laura Lake, but the camera
was stolen before any photographs were recovered.
Of the three sites that had photographic evidence (C, D, and E), only level 3 species were recorded. Site
D had the highest number of species recorded, while site E ranked second although no scent attractant
was used due to the close proximity to the interstate. The species recorded at the I-90 sites included elk,
bobcat, coyote, black tailed deer, otter and raccoon.
Heavy construction was underway along this stretch of the I-90 corridor during the season which was
likely a deterrent for wildlife. Even with this disturbance and a restricted use of attractant, our cameras
detected wildlife in habitat directly adjacent to these crossing structures under development. This is
critically important as we move out of a pre-construction monitoring mode into effectiveness
monitoring for these crossing structures.
I-90 Site
B
C
D
E
Black Bear
Bobcat
Coyote
Elk
x
x
x
x
Black Tail
Deer
x
x
x
Misc.
Otter
raccoon
F
Table 9. I-90 Corridor sites with recorded Level 3 species
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