Wolverine Tracking project
more about our target species and the project
Wolverine
Gulo gulo, Family Mustelidae Wolverines have been making a slow comeback to the southern reaches of their original range. Once an important part of this ecosystem, they were restricted in the PNW to a small area in northern Washington for many decades. In the last fifteen years, however, they have been making a comeback. Breeding individuals were documented in Mt Ranier in 2018, and lone animals have been detected in Mt Adams, the Wallowas, and most recently, in the Willamette Valley! Given 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 and caching food.
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Sierra Nevada Red Fox
Vulpes vulpes necator, Family Canidae 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, this fox has only been found over 4,000 feet, and very little is known about them. In fact, their presence here was first confirmed in Mt Hod in 2012 by a wildlife camera with the Wolverine Tracking Project!
They are one of only three montane red foxes native to our region; the Cascades red fox is found in the Cascades north of the Columbia River, and the Rocky Mountain red fox is found throughout the Rockies, including in the Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon, and was recently confirmed in central Oregon. |
Gray Wolf
Canis lupus, Family Canidae Gray wolves, also once native but long extirpated from the Mt Hood area, have now re-established 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 now calling home.
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Pacific Marten
Martes caurina caurina, Family Mustelidae Our fourth target species, Pacific 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. Marten need areas with continuous forest canopy, lots of large dead trees with cavities for nesting, and large down logs for hunting. These features are getting scarcer across the landscape.
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