7
4. Observe the behavior and presence of all wildlife species in key habitat connectivity areas along Interstate
90 between Snoqualmie Pass and Easton, where wildlife crossing structures are completed, under
construction, or planned for construction as part of the I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East Project.
3
5. Detect transboundary wildlife activity between northeast Washington and British Columbia with a specific
focus on documenting and collecting genetic information from Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis).
WOLF MONITORING
Since 2008, when this program's remote cameras documented the first wolf pups born back in Washington in
over 70 years, Conservation Northwest has played a major role in wolf recovery in Washington. As of December of
2016, Washington is home to 20 confirmed wolf packs, with the new Sherman pack confirmation in the spring of
2016 and the Touchet pack in late 2016
4
. WDFW updated their 2016 Annual Report in March of 2017 to reflect the
state's most up-to-date wolf count, with a minimum of 115 wolves calling Washington state home at the end of
2017
5
. In addition to shaping wolf policy in Washington and leading the Range Rider Pilot Project, through the
CWMP, Conservation Northwest carries out monitoring efforts, the results of which are used to better understand
the distribution of wolves across the state.
The Wolf Conservation and Management Plan identifies three recovery zones in Washington: Eastern
Washington, the North Cascades, and the Southern Cascades and Northwest Coast.
6
According to this plan,
wolves will be considered recovered in the state of Washington if there are 15 successful breeding pairs for three
consecutive years, geographically distributed across the three regions. Additionally, each recovery zone must have
at least four breeding pairs for three consecutive years. As of 2017, none of Washington's 20 wolf packs have
been documented in the Southern Cascades and Northwest Coast recovery zones, while 16 are present in the
Eastern Washington recovery zone. In 2017, CWMP focused its wolf monitoring efforts on detection south of I-90
in the state's designated Southern Cascades and Northwest Coast Recovery Zone. Installations were located in
areas of predicted high quality wolf habitat or in response to specific anecdotal reports of potential wolf activity
within these recovery zones.
WOLVERINE MONITORING
The largest terrestrial members of the weasel family, wolverines are among the rarest carnivores in North
America.
7
They prefer alpine and subalpine environments where snow packs persist into late spring. Perhaps
3
The I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East Project is designed to improve wildlife movement across I-90 between Hyak and
Easton. The I-90 project design includes 14 key animal-travel areas, where one or more improvements will be made
to allow for wildlife to better move across the interstate and waterways under the interstate. Maps of the identified
areas for wildlife passage can be found at: wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/F6513B4C-12AE-43D3-ABA1-
95104CAAD29D/72075/I90_Project_Folio_ConstWeb.pdf
4
http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/gray_wolf/packs/21/
5
https://www.fws.gov/wafwo/articles.cfm?id=149489625
6
Gary J. Wiles, Harriet L. Allen, and Gerald E. Hayes, Wolf Conservation and Management Plan: State of Washington
(Olympia, WA, USA: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, December 2011).
7
Keith B. Aubry, Kevin S. Mckelvey, and Jeffrey P. Copeland, "Distribution and Broadscale Habitat Relations of the
Wolverine in the Contiguous United States," Journal of Wildlife Management 71, no. 7 (2007): 2147, doi:10.2193/2006-
