Keeping the Northwest wild Winter/Spring 2016 7
A short video about our
Cascades fisher reintroduction
project with the Washington
Department of Fish and Wildlife
and the National Park Service
is now up on our website and
YouTube channel. Look for it
at www.conservationnw.org/
fishers
good fit for this reintroduction project. Prior to their release,
the fishers are given health screenings and vaccinations
to ensure good health. ey are also equipped with small
radio transmitters to help track movement patterns, habitat
selection, and the recovery of the Cascades population.
Reintroducing this native species works to restore the bio
-
diversity of the Cascades ecosystem, making it healthier and
more resilient.
"We have a chance to correct a thing that we didn't manage
correctly a long time ago. We can restore a species," said Jeffrey
Lewis, a WDFW biologist, who has been involved with the
fisher project from the start. According to Lewis, the Cascades
have an abundance of good fisher habitat, and he expects the
multi-year reintroduction effort to be successful.
is reintroduction effort is made possible with support
and funding from the National Park Service, Conservation
Northwest, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, state wild
-
life grants, Washington state personalized license plate sales,
and contributions from Defenders of Wildlife and other or-
ganizations.
A male fisher captured in
British Columbia. We worked
with First Nations trappers
in north-central British
Columbia to live-trap fishers.
The animals were then
given health screenings and
vaccinations before being
transported to the Cascades
for release. Photo: WDFW
A fisher darts from a transport box into the lush forest of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The return of fishers to the Cascades is evidence that
when people, organizations and agencies work together, we can still fix pieces of wild ecosystems that humans have broken in the past. Photo: Paul Bannick
Fishers back in the Cascades
