6 CWMP 2013-2014 Winter Field Season Report
3. South Cascades: South of I-90
At the start of each season, monitoring objectives are established by project staff with
feedback and guidance from the Advisory Council. These objectives are typically in
response to current statewide priority species and identified important habitat for
these species. Our 2013-2014 winter monitoring objectives were to:
1. Monitor the recovery of gray wolves (Canis lupus) in Washington's Cascades with
a particular focus on the Southern Recovery Zone.
2. Document the presence of wolverine (Gulo gulo) and build a genetic profile of
individuals recorded in the Central and South Cascades outside of the
geographic scope of the ongoing North Cascades Wolverine Study.
3. Observe the behavior and presence of all wildlife species in key habitat
connectivity areas east of Snoqualmie Pass along Interstate 90, where wildlife
crossing structures are completed, under construction, or planned for
construction under the I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East Project.
Of the twelve sites, four sites (10 cameras) were dedicated to monitoring wildlife
presence along I-90, four sites (10 cameras) were focused on documenting wolverine
presence near Highway 2, and four sites (9 cameras) monitored for gray wolf presence
in the South Cascades (Table 1). All of the sites targeting wolverine detections were
equipped with hair snagging brushes and a baited run-pole constructed according to a
monitoring protocol developed by members of our Advisory Council (Appendix C).
Camera teams at both wolverine and wolf camera sites applied scent lure (Caven's
Gusto) near cameras as instructed in the General Remote Camera Protocol.
Table 1: Overview of winter remote camera sites.
Site Location Site Name Target Species No. of
Cameras
Bait/Lure
Applied
Central Cascades Icicle Wolverine 2 Both
Central Cascades Chiwaukum Wolverine 4 Both
Central Cascades Ice Lake Wolverine 2 Both
Central Cascades Sparkplug Lake Wolverine 2 Lure only
I-90 Corridor Gold Creek All spp. 4 None
I-90 Corridor Rocky Run All spp. 2 None
I-90 Corridor Price Creek
North
All spp. 2 None
I-90 Corridor Price Creek
South
All spp. 2 None
