9
2012, the British Columbia Ministry of Environment estimates there are six grizzly bears in the Canadian North
Cascades
16
.
In 2010, with oversight from the North Cascades Interagency Grizzly Bear Subcommittee, the Cascade
Carnivore Connectivity Project (CCCP) and other project partners began an extensive survey to detect grizzlies
potentially occupying Washington's North Cascades Ecosystem (NCE)
17
. While this project did not find
photographic or genetic evidence of grizzly bears in the study area, continued monitoring in the area assists
the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in evaluating options for grizzly bear recovery in
the region. CWMP's effort to detect grizzly bears in the NCE was designed to complement the work already
carried out by the CCCP. Survey locations are selected based on the sampling model created by CCCP and the
sampling method they employed based on the "hair corral" described by Kendall and McKelvey (2008).
18
CWMP's field protocol adapted these methods to focus on simple detection using remote camera data, rather
than DNA analysis based on genetic sample (hair) collection. CCCP's primary research objectives were to
collect information on the genetic structure of carnivore populations in the NCE, and to detect grizzly bears
and other rare carnivores. CWMP's primary research goal is detection of grizzly bears.
I-90 CORRIDOR MONITORING
I-90 acts as a major barrier to wildlife traveling north and south in the Cascades. Results from a large-scale
connectivity analysis designate a narrow corridor along Interstate 90 to be particularly crucial for wildlife
passage.
19
In an effort to create a more permeable interstate, the Washington State Department of
Transportation has developed a 15-mile highway expansion project, called the I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East
Project, which includes measures for safer wildlife passage. Multiple crossing structures, including overpasses,
are slated for construction within the next five years
20
.
Our project has worked in concert with the Washington State Department of Transportation and Western
Transportation Institute for close to a decade to monitor wildlife activity along I-90 within the project area.
Through remote camera monitoring and snow tracking, CWMP has provided valuable data informing the I-90
Snoqualmie Pass East Project (I-90 SPE) throughout its planning and implementation phases. During the 2015
monitoring season, the wildlife underpasses at Gold Creek and Rocky Run were in the post-construction phase
and beginning habitat restoration within and adjacent to the crossing structures. Construction of the first
16
British Columbia Grizzly Bear Population Estimate for 2012:
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/wildlife/docs/Grizzly_Bear_Pop_Est_Report_Final_2012.pdf
17
Cascades Carnivore Connectivity Project Grizzly Bear Survey:
http://www.cascadesconnectivity.org/research/grizzly-bear-survey/
18
Long, R.A., J.S. Begley, P. MacKay, W.L. Gaines, and A.J. Shirk. 2013. The Cascades Carnivore Connectivity
Project: A landscape genetic assessment of connectivity for carnivores in Washington's North Cascades
Ecosystem. Final report for the Seattle City Light Wildlife Research Program, Seattle, Washington. Western
Transportation Institute, Montana State University, Bozeman. 57 pp. and Kendall, K.C., and K.S. McKelvey.
2008. Hair collection. Pages 141–182 in Long, R. A., P. MacKay, W. J. Zielinski, and J. C. Ray, editors.
Noninvasive survey methods for carnivores. Island Press, Washington, D.C.
19
I-90 Wildlife Bridges Project description and connectivity analysis: i90wildlifebridges.org/project-info
20
I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East Project Final Environmental Impact Statement:
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/I90/SnoqualmiePassEast/Finaleis
