Conservation Northwest updates
Keeping the Northwest wild Summer 2016 13
Wildlife hikes
ines in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness
west of Leavenworth. Wolverines prefer
alpine meadows and subalpine forests,
oen following the snowline and dig-
ging spring dens in snow piles at the base
of avalanche chutes. Take the lush Chi-
waukum Creek trail to its headwaters
around Chiwaukum Lake to visit the
home of one of North America's most
storied creatures.
wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/chiwaukum-creek
conservationnw.org/wolverine
Pacific fishers: Woods Creek
Like wolverines and wolves, humans
trapped, poisoned and shot fishers to
extinction in Washington by the 1930s.
Isolation from remaining fisher popula-
tions in British Columbia and Oregon
meant that there was little chance these
housecat-sized members of the weasel
family would return on their own, so
in the mid-2000s the Washington De-
partment of Fish and Wildlife, the Na-
tional Park Service and Conservation
Northwest began a collaborative effort
to reintroduce fishers to our state. From
2008-2012 approximately 100 fishers
were released on the Olympic Penin-
sula, where they are now reproducing
successfully. In late 2015, similar rein-
troduction efforts began in Washing-
ton's South Cascades. Reintroductions
will continue in Mount Rainier Na-
tional Park in 2016 and 2017, and later
in and around North Cascades National
Park. e 2015 fisher releases occurred
near the Cispus Learning Center, and
these "tree wolverines" have been docu-
mented in the lush mid-elevation woods
of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.
On the meandering Woods Creek na-
ture trail, look for fishers where ferns
cover the forest floor and fallen, mossy
wood abounds. And don't forget to look
up; fishers are remarkable climbers who
photos from top of article
Grizzly bear sow and cub by lake.
© iStock.com_federicoriz
A wolverine photographed by a hiker
in September 2014 in the Glacier Peak
Wilderness north of Leavenworth.
Photos: Jake Phelps
Roughly the size of a large housecat, with
a long tail, short legs, thick fur, and curved
claws for tree climbing, fishers are well
adapted for the mid- and low-elevation
forests they call home.
Photo: John Jacobson, WDFW
Marcus Reynerson inspects a shed
mountain caribou antler found in a high-
elevation rainforest of southeast B.C
Photo: David Moskowitz
If you're lucky enough to see a Canada lynx,
this might be the only glimpse you get. Have
a camera ready in lynx country!
Photo: Karl Vogel
play an important role in forest ecosys-
tems by feeding on birds, rodents and
even porcupines.
wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/woods-creek
conservationnw.org/fishers
mountain caribou: Salmo–
Priest loop
One of the most endangered large mam-
mals in the United States, only about a
dozen mountain caribou persist in the
South Selkirk Mountains. A unique eco-
type of the woodland caribou subspe-
cies, mountain caribou reside in limited
numbers in central British Columbia,
Alberta, Idaho and Washington state.
e only herd remaining in the lower 48
states and the world's southernmost car-
ibou, the South Selkirks herd occupies
a transboundary range from southeast
B.C. into northeast Washington and
northwest Idaho. While these animals
spend much of their time in B.C., a trip
into Washington's Salmo-Priest Wilder-
ness is an adventure into caribou coun-
try. Enjoy sprawling ridgelines where
wide-hooved caribou can find refuge
from predators among deep snow, as
well as dark forests lush with the hang-
ing moss that caribou depend on for
winter food. If you're lucky enough to
spot one of these extremely endangered
Northwest natives, treat it with the dis-
tance and reverence it deserves.
wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/salmo-priest-
loop
conservationnw.org/caribou
Canada lynx: loomis Forest
Disappointment Peak trail
Between the Pasayten Wilderness and
the Okanogan Valley, the Loomis For-
est's mid-elevation pine, spruce and fir
trees provide particularly rich habitat for
threatened Canada lynx and for snow-
shoe hares, their main food source. e
Loomis is such prime lynx habitat that
up to half of the approximately 100 lynx
remaining in Washington are thought
to live there. In 1999, this 25,000 acre
tract of state Department of Natural
Resources Trust Lands was threatened
with timber harvesting. In a momentous
conservation effort, the Loomis For-
est Fund, a coalition led by the North-
west Ecosystem Alliance (later renamed
Conservation Northwest) succeeded in
doing what few thought possible: in a
mere 12 months they raised $16.5 mil-
lion from thousands of private individu-
als and regional philanthropic leaders to
buy the timber rights to this area. As a
result of these efforts, in 2000, the Loo-
mis Forest was approved as a state Natu-
ral Resources Conservation Area to per-
manently protect its important habitat
and recreation values.
dnr.wa.gov/loomis
conservationnw.org/lynx
