11 | P a g e
approximately 3,800 km
2
of available habitat.
13
Researchers have documented dispersal of lynx
across the Canadian border in northeastern Washington.
14
Since wildlife often move across
political boundaries, Conservation Northwest works closely with US and Canadian
conservation allies to ensure that lynx and other wildlife can travel safely and seamlessly across
the border. In 2013, Conservation Northwest began a pilot season in the Rossland Range of
British Columbia to document lynx activity near the U.S.-Canadian border.
Our major objective for 2013 lynx monitoring in British Columbia was to 1) document the
presence of lynx in the transboundary linking habitats between British Columbia and
Washington, and 2) collect genetic data from hair snags placed at each remote camera site to
increase our understanding of lynx here and their relation to adjacent, better studied, lynx
populations in the Rockies and Cascade Mountains.
METHODOLOGY
CWMP is an entirely volunteer-based project supported by Conservation Northwest, interns,
and other project partner staff. Though our winter monitoring season includes snow tracking
techniques, the bulk of our work is accomplished through the use of remote motion-triggered
cameras. The use of motion-triggered cameras represents an easy and verifiable method of
documenting wildlife presence and has been used as a significant research tool in many projects
worldwide.
15
Additionally, motion-triggered cameras provide a tangible, low-cost way to
engage citizens in wildlife monitoring and conservation. Together, our network of volunteers
and cameras provide invaluable verifiable data on rare and sensitive species presence.
13
Gary M. Koehler et al., "Habitat Fragmentation and the Persistence of Lynx Populations in Washington
State," The Journal of Wildlife Management 72, no. 7 (2008): 1518–1524, doi:10.2193/2007-437.
14
Stinson, Washington State Recovery Plan for the Lynx.; J.D. Brittell et al., Native Cats of Washington, Section
III: Lynx, Unpublished (Olympia, WA, USA: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 1989).; and
Kim G. Poole, "Dispersal Patterns of Lynx in the Northwest Territories," The Journal of Wildlife
Management 61, no. 2 (1997): 497–505.
15
Masatoshi Yasuda, "Monitoring Diversity and Abundance of Mammals with Camera Traps: A Case
Study on Mount Tsukuba, Central Japan," Mammal Study 29, no. 1 (2004): 37–46.; and Christen Wemmer,
Thomas H. Kunz, and Virginia Hayssen, "Mammalian Sign," in Measuring and Monitoring Biological
Diversity., by Don E Wilson et al. (Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1996).
