Conservation Northwest

CWMP Winter 2013-2014 Monitoring Report Final

Conservation Northwest protects and connects old-growth forests and other wild areas from the Washington Coast to the British Columbia Rockies, vital to a healthy future for us, our children, and wildlife. Since 1989, Conservation Northwest has worke

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55 CWMP 2013-2014 Winter Field Season Report animals. Full view of an animal's features is often needed for sure species identification. Make sure that every place that an attractant is applied is within the view of the camera so that wildlife spending time sniffing are captured on the camera. Set the camera and then trigger it and review the images to be sure that the area within the photo frame is appropriate. Handling scent lures: Because the scent lures are so powerful it is vital to keep them separate from the remote camera to avoid drawing attention to the camera its self. Bears in particular can destroy remote cameras. Have one person on a team carry and handle the lures and a separate person handle the camera. When traveling in bear country with carnivore scent lures, always carry bear spray. When camping with it, treat it like food and store it away from where you camp, ideally hung from a tree as with precautions for food in bear country. Make sure to record the exact names of the lure(s) applied by your team on your data sheet. This information will be entered into our database to track the wildlife response to different lures. Setting Two Remote Camera Traps in the Same Area Most teams will have two remote cameras to deploy in their assigned area. Refer to the specific guidelines for spacing of these camera traps and considerations for variations between the two in the species-specific protocols for wolves, bears, and lynx. For wolverines, these two cameras are used in conjunction with each other at the same trap site (see wolverine specific protocol). For general wildlife survey camera traps, as along Interstate 90, space your camera traps at least 1 kilometer apart and attempt to set up the two cameras in distinctive habitats. This will help increase the diversity of captured wildlife. Other considerations might include setting cameras on opposite sides of the interstate, setting one on a trail that clearly leads to the road or a culvert under the road, and a second in habitat a bit more distant from the road. Servicing a Remote Camera Trap Instructions for servicing a previously installed camera trap Getting to Camera Site 1. Use the site write-up, maps, written directions, GPS coordinates and photographs of the area taken by the installation crew to locate your cameras. It might be helpful to take a copy of the data sheet from the installation and/or previous visit, which may have useful notes on it. 2. Be on the lookout for tracks, scat, or other wildlife sign on the way to the camera and if encountered, document per Wildlife Sign Documentation Protocol section (below).

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