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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61 CWMP 2013-2014 Winter Field Season Report Wildlife Sign Documentation It is not uncommon for the carnivores we are working on detecting to leave tracks or signs of their presence even if they do not trigger our remote camera trap. If you observe tracks, scat or other signs that maybe of one of our target species on your way to the camera or at the camera site, use these procedures for documenting the sign. This information may be useful for refining our camera trapping effort or as evidence in its own right of the presence of our target species. Target Species CWMP remote camera efforts focus on several different target species around the Pacific Northwest. North Cascades and Northeast Washington: wolves, wolverines, grizzly bear, Canada lynx Southern and Central Washington Cascades: wolves, wolverines Interstate 90: Mammals larger than a snowshoe hare. Especially interested in observations associated with these species in relationship to their use of areas immediately adjacent to the highway, crossing the interstate or using crossing structures to travel under the interstate. Documenting Tracks and Signs See appendix for diagrams and further instructions. Stop your companion(s) and bring tracks to their attention. Stop walking to prevent destroying tracks. Determine if you believe the tracks or sign in question could possibly be one of our target species. If so, proceed to documenting them. If not, carry on with your other activities. Select the clearest tracks for photographs (and measurements). Consider photographing tracks in a variety of locations if possible. When ambiguous or unidentifiable tracks are found, the first step is to search the area for better tracks of the same animal. If there is a trail you can follow, this is one way you may discover clearer tracks for that individual. In general, look for where the creature has entered more sheltered areas away from direct sunlight, wind, further snowfall, or whatever has likely obscured the tracks.

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