Conservation Northwest

Homecoming for wildlife Connecting habitat Robert Long and Paula MacKay Mending fractures These are exciting times for carnivores in Washington, with wolves and wolverines making a comeback on the ground while recovery planning for fishers (recently reintroduced to the Olympic Peninsula and soon to the Cascades) and grizzly bears in the North Cascades is gaining overdue momentum. The return or potential return of these apex predators is reason to celebrate for all who value wildness. We must remember, however, that the persistence of such wide-ranging species requires that they be able to move and disperse through the landscape. Existing protected areas, here and elsewhere, simply aren't big enough to provide for viable populations of large carnivores, which makes connectivity among suitable habitat all the more important. Which route? How will that young male wolverine find its way to a new territory? What route will the offspring of those alpha wolves take to find or launch a new pack? And will they make it from here to there without running into an oncoming vehicle, the edge of suburbia, or an intolerant landowner? Increasingly, biologists and conservationists are working together to identify where conservation efforts should best be focused; where wildlife linkages are intact, and alternately, where barriers to wildlife movement, or "fracture zones," might occur. Noninvasive (or non-capture-based) field methods are being used widely to make sense of how wildlife move in the North Cascades. Remote cameras help document rare species that are recolonizing formerly occupied habitat and can also provide evidence that a species of interest is not present in significant numbers. Researchers with the Cascades Carnivore Connec(right) Researcher Robert Long removes a bear hair sample from a barbed-wire corral. Paula MacKay (above) Adult black bear and cub visit a barbed-wire corral meant to snag hairs as animals pass over or under the wire. Conservation Northwest supplied volunteers to help with some of this work. Cascades Carnivore Connectivity Project 6 Fall 2013 The key to wildlife's future lies in our ability to facilitate—and tolerate—their movement. tivity Project—a project led by Montana State University's Western Transportation Institute and the USDA Forest Service—spent the last several years trying to detect martens in the highly fragmented forests south of Snoqualmie Pass, with very little success. This might suggest that associated habitat was too poor to support a high-density population, and that the area represents a fracture zone for martens. Hair-snagging is another valuable research tool, with innovative devices deployed in the field to collect tufts of hair, and therefore DNA, from wildlife of interest. DNA analysis provides a means for not only identifying individuals, but also for evaluating relatedness among individuals. Patterns of relatedness By looking at patterns of relatedness in relation to landscape features, such as roads, human development, or mountain ridges, we can assess how such features might help or hinder the movement of animals. This approach, known as landscape genetics, makes it possible to detect fracture zones in what might appear to be connected habitat. The Cascades Carnivore Connectivity Project used hairsnagging to compile an extensive genetic database for black bears, with preliminary results suggesting that rugged topography and high elevations may inhibit the movement of these animals more than was previously expected. This finding has ramifications for human development in mountain valleys as potential movement corridors for bears. We're fortunate to live in a landscape intact enough to sustain such a broad diversity of wildlife. The key to wildlife's future lies in our ability to facilitate—and tolerate—their movement as they seek food, mates, and new habitats. Robert Long is a senior conservation fellow at Woodland Park Zoo. He currently leads efforts to study and conserve carnivores as part of the zoo's Living Northwest program. Paula MacKay is a wildlife researcher and writer. conservationnw.org

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