Homecoming for wildlife
Katie Carroll Communications intern
From Olympics, to cascades
Fishers
What's that furry brown blur dashing through Olympic
National Park? It's a fisher! Native to Washington state but
driven out decades ago after heavy trapping, fishers are back,
thanks to a reintroduction program first begun on the ground
in 2008. It is exciting to have this important predator back
and Conservation Northwest is working to ensure the return
of fishers is permanent. What's next? Fishers are soon to be
released to the Cascades to further restore their populations
and return a key component of Northwest ecosystems.
Fishers prefer well-connected forest habitat to thrive. Much
smaller than wolverines, they do not have the same large ranging abilities, and a lack of connectivity has made it hard for them
to return on their own, making reintroduction the only option.
In the early 2000s, along with the Washington Department
of Fish and Wildlife and other agencies and conservation
groups, we initiated the first fisher reintroductions into old
forests on the Olympic Peninsula. Scientists are still studying
the success of the fishers in their new home there. Evidence
from early radio tracking shows that fishers have already covered every viable piece of habitat in the park and they have had
kits, both good signs.
To further recover this important forest carnivore, a second
set of releases is in the works for the Cascades. Areas in the
North Cascades and near Mount Rainer have been identified
as potential fisher habitat and the National Park Service is now
taking comments for the environmental assessment of release of
fishers here. "This is a chance for us to fix a problem created a
long time ago, when fisher populations were overexploited for
their fur," explains Jeff Lewis of the WDFW.
The reintroductions are only part of the story. As it goes with
most recovering populations, they need habitat. For fishers this
means large expanses of older forest structure with fallen logs
"This is a chance
for us to fix a
problem created
a long time ago,
when fisher
populations were
overexploited for
their fur." —Jeff
Lewis, WDFW
Fisher looks
out to the
Olympic
National
Forest.
© Paul Bannick
and a complex canopy for denning and hunting. Studies have
shown that fisher movements can be thwarted easily by areas of
unsuitable habitats such as development, agricultural fields or
clearcuts.
Roads are another big obstacle to fisher success. Unfortunately, about 20 percent of the fishers released into the Olympics were hit by cars and the same could happen to the Cascades
population, further supporting the need to consider wildlife
corridors, preserving large areas of old forest, and better connecting habitat, to help ensure that fishers are home for good.
Apex predator
Fishers are one of Washington's top carnivores, with
no-nonsense teeth and claws and a keen agility. Though
the name indicates otherwise, fishers don't eat many
fish (that would be their cousins, the river otter). Their
diet consists mainly of snowshoe hares, beavers, mountain beavers, porcupines, other small mammals, birds,
and the occasional plant.
The fishers to be released in the North Cascades are in
a unique position to succeed because of their hunting
prowess. They are one of the only predators that successfully hunts porcupines, for example, which the
North Cascades will be able to provide in abundance.
Comment for fishers
Movement pathways are part of the consideration as
the National Park Service scopes issues for the return of
fishers to the Cascades. You can be a part of that process!
Visit conservationnw.org/fishers to learn how.
12 Fall 2013conservationnw.org
