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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15 CWMP 2013-2014 Winter Field Season Report seasons ago (See Table 6). Excluding samples that could not be verified or refuted definitively out of the field, team leaders' correctly identified tracks correctly 92.9% of the time for the season and 98.4% since the project has been reviewing this. Table 6: Observer Reliability Summary 2013-14 winter 2010-2014 totals Number of Observers Tested 8 16 Total Samples Submitted 18 86 Correct 13 60 Incorrect 1 1 Definitive Identification Impossible from Photograph 4 25 Percentage correct (omitting data which could not be verified) 92.9% 98.4% Species Positively Identified American marten, Black bear, Bobcat, Coyote, Elk, Mule deer, Raccoon American marten, Beaver, Black bear, Bobcat, Coyote, Elk, Mountain lion, Mule deer, Raccoon, River otter The overall experience and training level of this year's team leaders was similar to past seasons. Many team leaders hold professional certifications in wildlife track and sign identification. All but one team leader came to the winter monitoring season with significant amounts of training in wildlife tracking outside of the project training, primarily through the Wilderness Awareness School. Volunteer effort Even with fewer transect volunteers this year, the number of volunteer hours rose for 2013-2014 because of two factors 1) addition of another transect site and 2) the tracking of hours that volunteer team leaders spend training new and returning transect volunteers. This year, too, volunteers spent fewer hours on administration thanks to increased efficiency: tasks have become more routine; meetings are now done as conference calls or email meetings; and returning volunteers have strengthened the expertise of the project.

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