I.
Executive Summary
From April through November of 2012, over 100 volunteers with the Citizen Wildlife Monitoring Project
deployed 36 cameras at 24 sites in Washington. Sites were located in northeast Washington and
throughout the Cascades. The season's objectives were to: 1) Monitor the presence of gray wolves in
both habitat where we knew they were established, and quality habitat where we expect them to
recover; 2) Monitor the presence and collect genetic information on wolverines in the Cascades; and 3)
Monitor all wildlife species present in key habitat connectivity areas east of Snoqualmie Pass along
Interstate 90, where wildlife crossing structures are under construction.
In the Cascades, eighteen remote camera sites detected eleven species. The highlight of the season
occurred just south of Highway 2 west of the city of Leavenworth, WA where we detected the presence
of three individual wolverines previously undocumented prior to this year by state and federal wolverine
researchers. One of the detections was the return of a female wolverine, dubbed "Peg" during our
previous winter season, first recorded by our cameras on April 1, 2012. Two individuals in addition to
Peg were recorded this season, and identified by their unique chest blazes. Additional highlights from
our Cascades stations included wildlife visiting camera stations located in the approaches to wildlife
crossing structures under construction along I-90, multiple young bear cubs visiting a station in the
Chiwaukum Mountains, and a red fox on American Ridge Cascades in the William O Douglas wilderness.
In northeast Washington, six sites detected seven species. In July, one of our cameras recorded video of
a gray wolf believed to be a young female of the Salmo pack. Since there was not a radio collar on any
individuals within the Salmo Pack during this season, this video helped increase our understanding of
their current territory use.
All of our season's results increased our understanding of wildlife presence on the landscapes that we
monitored, and are a testament to the richness, diversity, and wildness of Washington. The images
from this season place a face to these special places and underscore the importance of not only
monitoring, but conservation efforts to make sure wildlife have places to thrive.
4
