Wolverine Tracking project
The Wolverine Tracking Project is a volunteer-based community science project collecting data on rare carnivores and other wildlife in the Mt Hood National Forest.
The data we collect with our wildlife camera, winter tracking, and scat surveys is shared with wildlife researchers, managers, and advocates to help guide wildlife and resource management and establish or modify protections.
The data we collect with our wildlife camera, winter tracking, and scat surveys is shared with wildlife researchers, managers, and advocates to help guide wildlife and resource management and establish or modify protections.
Goals of the wolverine tracking project
- Carry out wildlife surveys that increase the knowledge-base on which wildlife management decisions are made
- Encourage people's involvement with their local national forest
- Teach participants about the natural world
The Wolverine Tracking Project began in 2003 to verify reports of wolverine sightings in the area of Mt Hood. While the resulting tracking team was not able to confirm those sightings, the project has grown to encompass camera and scat surveys and to incorporate three additional carnivores as target species that, as apex predators, both indicate and shape a healthy ecosystem. Additionally, we collect data on other carnivores and prey of the forest, from Douglas squirrel to deer and elk to bobcats, bears, and every mammal or ground bird in between. This cumulative data tells us a story of the forest: the life it currently supports; the life it is capable of supporting; and how the ecosystem is changing over the days, seasons, and years. Probable climate change and burgeoning population growth in nearby Portland, with attendant increases in recreation and other land uses, can bring about fundamental changes to wildlife habitat, making the need for long-term surveys even more important than before.
target species
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Wolverine
Wolverines have been making a slow comeback to the southern reaches of their original range. They can now be found in the Wallowas and, in 2012, were found on Mt Adams for the first time in decades. Given the appropriate conditions, wolverines can travel up to 100 miles per day in search of an alpine home that can support them, and so it seems inevitable that they may once again call our mountain home. However, climate change makes the wolverine's future here uncertain: in addition to needing a large territory and ample food, a wolverine requires deep snowpack for denning. We are monitoring for wolverines primarily through our winter tracking surveys and camera surveys. |
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Gray Wolf
Gray wolves, also extirpated from the Mt Hood area over a century ago, have reestablished themselves on and near Mt Hood National Forest. In 2018, one of our wildlife cameras recorded one of the first documented instances of their return (picture, right). Their presence can cause a cascade of changes throughout an ecosystem, and we are monitoring them as they settle back in this area to determine the areas they are using, their population size, and habitat preferences and to track any changes to the ecosystems they are calling home. We are monitoring for gray wolves via our winter tracking, camera, and wolf scat surveys. |
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Sierra Nevada Red Fox
The Sierra Nevada is a rare subspecies of red fox found only in the high mountains of the Oregon Cascades and California Sierra Nevadas. In Oregon, the SN red fox has only been found over 4,000 feet, and very little is known about them. Their presence here was first confirmed in 2012 by a wildlife camera under the Wolverine Tracking Project. This unique fox was denied protection a couple years ago as a threatened or endangered subspecies, in part because of lack of information on their continued uniqueness in the face of potential interbreeding with other fox subspecies. The data from this survey will be used by researchers to determine the native ancestry, population size, distribution, and connectivity of montane red fox populations. We are monitoring for this species primarily through our Sierra Nevada red fox scat survey, but also collecting data via our camera and winter tracking surveys. |
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Pacific Marten
Our fourth target species, marten, is an indicator of healthy old-growth, upper-elevation forests. Previous surveys have consistently documented their presence where there is suitable habitat. We would like to continue to monitor these areas to see if we note any anecdotal changes to their population that would need follow up. We are monitoring martens via our winter tracking and camera surveys. |
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Wolverine tracking project data
Having accurate data on the presence of rare species is crucial to implementing any protection strategy and is the stepping stone for any further study.
By collecting data on wildlife and making it available to those who need it, we improve the knowledge-base that management decisions are made upon, which in turn improves the chances that viable populations of native animals can be maintained.
All data collected in the Wolverine Tracking Project is shared with the Mt Hood National Forest Service, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, US Forest Service PNW Research Lab, Cascades Carnivore Project, and Defenders of Wildlife.
Read the 2018-19 Wolverine Tracking Project Report
By collecting data on wildlife and making it available to those who need it, we improve the knowledge-base that management decisions are made upon, which in turn improves the chances that viable populations of native animals can be maintained.
All data collected in the Wolverine Tracking Project is shared with the Mt Hood National Forest Service, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, US Forest Service PNW Research Lab, Cascades Carnivore Project, and Defenders of Wildlife.
Read the 2018-19 Wolverine Tracking Project Report
How to get involved
Did we mention that this is a volunteer-supported, community science project?
Whether you want to join a survey team, make a financial or material contribution, or share a skill or area of expertise, your contribution is not only greatly appreciated but is crucial to the operation and success of this project.
Whether you want to join a survey team, make a financial or material contribution, or share a skill or area of expertise, your contribution is not only greatly appreciated but is crucial to the operation and success of this project.
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Consider becoming a member, making a tax-deductible financial or material donation, or volunteering.
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