8
because they live in these harsh environments where food is scarce, wolverines are extremely mobile carnivores
with large home ranges between 100 km² to over 900 km². This means they typically live in low densities across
large landscapes.
8
After near eradication from the lower 48 states in the early 1900s, wolverines have begun to
recover in areas such as the North Cascades, and, since 2005, state researchers have identified more than a dozen
individual wolverines. Much is still unknown about these rare and elusive species, and the CWMP is helping to
collect more information.
Though conservation groups have pursued listing the wolverine as endangered under the Endangered Species Act
at both the federal and state levels, in the fall of 2014, the USFWS published their final ruling on the listing status
for wolverine nationwide and determined that the species did not warrant federal protections.
9
In response to the
negative finding from USFWS, conservation groups have filed a lawsuit against the government to continue to
pursue protection, citing habitat loss due to climate change and other factors
10
. Conservation Northwest and
other organizations are pushing decision-makers to create state and federal safeguards for wolverines as they
recover across Washington and other parts of the lower 48 states.
Through CWMP monitoring activities, Conservation Northwest will help shape recovery and critical habitat plans
for wolverines in Washington, inform land management decisions, and build upon ongoing research in the
Cascades. Our goals for wolverine monitoring in 2017 were to:
1) Document the presence of wolverines in the southern portion of the North Cascades and the South
Cascades.
2) Collect definitive evidence of wolverines on the western side of the North Cascades in the Mount Baker
vicinity where anecdotal reports of sightings and tracks have been made for a number of years.
3) Collect genetic data through hair samples to help identify individual wolverines at all of our wolverine
monitoring locations.
In 2017, our wolverine monitoring continued in the Chiwaukum, Chiwawa, and Union Gap survey areas where our
remote cameras have contributed to individual wolverine documentation over the course of multiple years. We
also established locations at Alaska Lake (I-90 Corridor) in response to high reliability sightings and Ethel Lake
(Chiwaukum) by guidance of our Advisory Council. To ensure that our efforts add to existing research, we
548.; Vivian Banci, "Wolverine," in The Scientific Basis for Conserving Forest Carnivores: American Marten, Fisher, Lynx,
and Wolverine in the Western United States., ed. Leonard F. Ruggiero et al. (Fort Collins, Colorado, USA: USDA Forest
Service Technical Report, 1994), 99–127.
8
Banci, Vivian. "Wolverine." In The Scientific Basis for Conserving Forest Carnivores: American Marten, Fisher, Lynx,
and Wolverine in the Western United States., edited by Leonard F. Ruggiero, Keith B. Aubry, Steven W. Bushkirk, Jack
L. Lyon, and William J. Zielinksi, 99–127. Fort Collins, Colorado, USA: USDA Forest Service Technical Report, 1994.
9
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife December 17, 2013 press release: fws.gov/mountain-
prairie/pressrel/2013/12172013_wolverine.php
10
Federal Agency Ignores Best Available Science in Decision Not To List Wolverine:
http://www.conservationnw.org/news/pressroom/press-releases/federal-agency-ignores-best-available-science-in-
decision-not-to-list-wolverine
