CWMP 2016-2017 Winter Report
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wildlife crossing sites east of Snoqualmie Pass along Interstate 90 in the Washington
Cascades. Since its inception, CWMP has remained an asset to wildlife agencies and
professionals by providing supplemental monitoring efforts in areas identified as either
potential core habitat or vital connectivity corridors between core habitats for some of our
region's rarest wildlife. Our main project objectives are:
1. To engage and educate citizens about the detection and monitoring of sensitive
wildlife species and in critical habitat areas;
2. To record wildlife presence in the I-90 corridor and along the I-90 Snoqualmie Pass
East Project in strategic locations and in core habitat through remote cameras and
snow tracking;
3. To record the presence of rare and sensitive species that regional and national
conservation efforts aim to recover including fisher, gray wolf, grizzly bear, lynx,
and wolverine;
4. To facilitate the exchange of information about wildlife, including data from
monitoring efforts, between public agencies, organizations, and interested
individuals.
CWMP is designed to support the conservation of our region's wildlife and wildlands by
enhancing our knowledge of wildlife-habitat connections in our region, supporting the
monitoring and management efforts of transportation and wildlife agencies, and providing
engaging educational field experiences for volunteers.
The winter portion of CWMP is focused on snow-tracking along a 15-mile corridor on I-90
and providing data for the I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East Project. The I-90 Snoqualmie Pass
East Project is a 15-mile highway improvement project that includes measures for
connecting wildlife habitat, such as the construction of wildlife crossings. Construction on
the first phase of the I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East Project has started with funding from the
Washington State Legislature. Completion is projected for 2018. Near the Gold Creek
transect, an underpass in this first phase section is now being used by wildlife.
Construction in phase two has begun and includes an overpass near the Price Nobel
transect. Construction activities were not active during the snow-tracking season.
A complete description of the Citizen Wildlife Monitoring Project's goals and methods, as
well as a record of previous season reports, is available online at
www.conservationnw.org/monitoring.
Methodology
Study Area
Snoqualmie Pass (3022 feet, 921 meters) is the lowest pass in the Washington Cascades.
Interstate 90 traverses the pass from west to east as a divided highway with two to four
lanes of traffic in each direction throughout the study area. A large downhill ski complex
sits at the summit of the pass, along with associated human infrastructure. A few miles east
of the pass, a large irrigation water reservoir on the headwaters of the Yakima River fills
much of the valley bottom. The human footprint at the pass along with the high speed and
heavily trafficked interstate highway makes Snoqualmie Pass the most tenuous wildlife
