22
survey area was not uninstalled. ++ Denotes camera removed from the landscape, + re-installed and active on the landscape.
Wolverine Camera Survey Areas 2016
Survey Area
General
Region # of Installations
Installation
Date Removal Date
Total Trap
Nights Lure
Chiwaukum OWNF 2 1/3/2016^ 12/4/2016* 672 days Gusto / Bait
Chiwawa OWNF 2
2016/03/11
11/24/2016+
8/5/2016++ 202 days Gusto / Bait
Joe Lake OWNF 2 2016/08/08 2016/10/10 148 days Gusto / Bait
Lookout Mountain GPNF 1 2016/01/24 10/29/2016 * 279 days Gusto / Bait
Skyline MBSNF 1 2016/03/27 2016/04/18 22 days Gusto / Bait
Union Gap OWNF 1 1/18/2016 ^ 11/19/2016 * 306 days Gusto / Bait
Blackjack Ridge OWNF 1 2016/07/05 2016/10/01 88 days Gusto / Bait
Johnny Creek OWNF 1 1/16/2016 ^ 5/2/2016--- 107 days Gusto / Bait
As previously described, wolverine survey areas are different from our other survey areas because they typically
consist of two cameras at each installation. The vicinity camera captures detections within the general area and
the run-pole camera detects animals on the run-pole. For this reason, duplicate events are deleted prior to
updating our database to obtain a more accurate understanding of detection rate and species detected, without
doubling detection events (Table 8). The two installations at Joe Lake did not have run-poles established at the
sites and so had one camera each. One of the Skyline cameras was not activated upon installation and the site
was removed early on in the season due to lack of team leads. The Summer Blossom Ridge remains on the
landscape from 2015 and no data has been collected.
Wolverine and gray wolf, both level one species, were detected at wolverine-targeted survey areas this season.
Wolverines were detected at Union Gap and Chiwawa, and a gray wolf was detected at Chiwaukum. A new
wolverine detection occurred at Chiwawa with two wolverine detection events which were determined to be the
same individual. The high rates of wolverine detections at Union Gap spanned over two days in March, five days in
April, and one day in September. Unfortunately, genetic samples that were collected from Union Gap were unable
to determine whether these were wolverines with existing DNA profiles or new individuals. However, based on
unique chest blaze patterns, at least two distinct individuals were observed (Appendix VI). Genetic samples
obtained in the field during the 2016 monitoring season and processed in the lab did not return results of gender
or individual ID. This problem is associated with the small sample size of cells related to non-invasive genetic
sampling (hair samples compared to blood or tissue) and the degradation of genetic samples from the elements.
In areas with high detection rates of target species, like the wolverine, we will be advising volunteers to visit the
site more frequently and retrieve the samples as soon as they can, and, if they are wet, to put them in desiccant
