11
The major objectives for 2017 lynx monitoring in British Columbia were to document the presence of lynx in the
transboundary Kettle River Range between British Columbia and northeast Washington and to collect genetic data
from hair snags placed at each remote camera installation. Working towards these goals, we aim to increase our
understanding of lynx in this area and their relation to adjacent, better-studied lynx populations in the Rockies
and Cascade Mountains.
In the fall of 2016, we collaborated with Dr. Lui Marinelli and students from Selkirk College in British Columbia,
who maintained three lynx monitoring installations in Rossland Range, BC using CWMP cameras. These cameras,
installed in October of each year, run through the winter and provide us with a look at transboundary species
detections north of the border. Additionally, our project volunteers installed and maintained eleven camera
installations on the Washington side of the border, providing support and supplementing a larger lynx monitoring
effort led by Dr. Dan Thornton and his Mammal Spatial Ecology and Conservation Lab at Washington State
University.
METHODOLOGY
CWMP is a volunteer-based project supported by Conservation Northwest staff, contractors, interns, and other
project partners. Though our winter monitoring season includes snow tracking techniques along I-90, the majority
of our work is accomplished through the use of remote, motion-triggered cameras. The use of motion-triggered
cameras represents an easy and verifiable method of documenting wildlife presence and have been used as a
significant, non-invasive research tool in many projects worldwide.
25
Additionally, motion-triggered cameras
provide a tangible, low-cost way to engage citizens in wildlife monitoring and conservation. Together, our network
of volunteers and cameras provides invaluable data on the presence of rare and sensitive species. Some of our
camera installations also include devices for collecting hair samples.
STUDY AREA
In 2017, we concentrated our study area in two distinct landscapes – the Cascade Mountains in Washington and
the transboundary Kettle River Mountain Range of northeast Washington and southern British Columbia,
including the Rossland Range in B.C. Within the Cascade Mountains, we have divided the study area into three
regions:
1. Washington's North Cascades: North of Interstate-90 (North Cascades)
2. I-90 Corridor: Between Snoqualmie Pass and Easton along I-90
Washington's South Cascades: South of I-90 (South Cascades)
SURVEY AREA SELECTION
At the beginning of each season, we select and prioritize monitoring survey areas in collaboration with project
partners and our Advisory Council. Survey areas are initially selected based on target species and core habitat
with consideration of equipment inventory as well as staff and volunteer capacity. Our list of survey areas goes
25
Masatoshi Yasuda, "Monitoring Diversity and Abundance of Mammals with Camera Traps: A Case Study on
Mount Tsukuba, Central Japan," Mammal Study 29, no. 1 (2004): 37–46.; and Christen Wemmer, Thomas H. Kunz,
and Virginia Hayssen, "Mammalian Sign," in Measuring and Monitoring Biological Diversity., by Don E Wilson et al.
(Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1996).
