Conservation Northwest

10 overcrossing began in June. During the 2016 season, restoration projects will continue underneath the Gold Creek underpasses and construction of the overcrossing will continue. 21 Our goals for CWMP in 2015 along I-90 were to document wildlife activity at habitat adjacent to the completed wildlife crossing structures as well as presence of wildlife in areas relevant to future phases of the project. TRANSBOUNDARY LYNX MONITORING Washington is home to one of the largest populations of Canada lynx in the continental United States. 22 Much like the history of wolverines in our state, lynx were targeted for the fur trade in the 1800s and early 1900s, and hunting pressure along with habitat decline reduced their numbers drastically in Washington. 23 As a result of these pressures, lynx are protected under the federal and state Endangered Species Acts 24 . Based on the preferred habitat of lynx, Koelher et al. estimate that Washington has approximately 3,800 km 2 of available habitat. 25 Researchers have documented the dispersal of lynx across the Canadian border in northeastern Washington. 26 Since wildlife travel across political boundaries, Conservation Northwest works closely with U.S. and Canadian conservation allies to ensure that lynx and other wildlife can travel safely and seamlessly across the border. In the past several years, Conservation Northwest has piloted approaches to extend our monitoring efforts into the transboundary Kettle River and Rossland Ranges in Washington and British Columbia at the southern end of the Monashee Range. These efforts are aimed at documenting the presence of lynx and collecting genetic information on individuals outside of ongoing agency research in the Cascade Mountains. In the fall of 2014, we collaborated with Lui Marinelli and students from Selkirk College in British Columbia, who maintained four lynx monitoring installations in BC from November 2014 through March 2015. Results from these installations can be found in Appendix II. Additionally, our project volunteers installed and maintained two camera installations on the Washington side of the border. We hope to boost our program in 2016 through partnerships with Selkirk College and Washington State University. Our major objectives for 2015 lynx monitoring in British Columbia were to 1) document the presence of lynx in the transboundary Kettle River Range between British Columbia and Washington, and 2) collect genetic data from hair snags placed at each remote camera installation to increase our understanding of lynx in this area, and their relation to adjacent, better-studied lynx populations in the Rockies and Cascade Mountains. 21 Ibid. 22 Derek W. Stinson, Washington State Recovery Plan for the Lynx (Olympia, WA, USA: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 2001). 23 Ibid. 24 Ibid. 25 Gary M. Koehler et al., "Habitat Fragmentation and the Persistence of Lynx Populations in Washington State," The Journal of Wildlife Management 72, no. 7 (2008): 1518–1524, doi:10.2193/2007-437. 26 Stinson, Washington State Recovery Plan for the Lynx.; J.D. Brittell et al., Native Cats of Washington, Section III: Lynx, Unpublished (Olympia, WA, USA: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 1989).; and Kim G. Poole, "Dispersal Patterns of Lynx in the Northwest Territories," The Journal of Wildlife Management 61, no. 2 (1997): 497–505.

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