Wolverine Tracking Project
Findings and impact
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WOLVERINE TRACKING PROJECT in the news
In 2012, cameras with the Wolverine Tracking Project verified the presence of red fox in the high elevation areas on Mt Hood, and in 2013, scat samples provided the genetic information to show these were the Sierra Nevada subpecies. Up until this time, biologists were unsure what type of foxes were here - or even if they still existed!
Read about this discovery in The Oregonian and Center for Biological Diversity.
Read about this discovery in The Oregonian and Center for Biological Diversity.
In 2018, cameras caught some of the first footage of wolves returning to the Mt Hood area. The wolf pair seen on camera had pups and was designated the White River Wolf Pack. Their decedents are still around today!
Read the story in The Oregonian.
Read the story in The Oregonian.
Two years later, wolves were detected again, providing evidence the pack was still here and doing well.
Read about it at The Oregonian.
Read about it at The Oregonian.
In 2023, a wolverine through the Portland metro area! The animal was first brought to biologists' attention by a volunteer with the Wolverine Tracking Project, and Cascadia Wild helped confirm the sighting. Wolverine are usually found in remote mountainous areas, but this individual went right through the Willamette Valley, presumably trying to find a suitable place to settle down. This was the first wolverine seen in Oregon outside of the Wallowa Mountains in over half a century.
Read about this discovery on OPB, Oregon Live, and NPR.
Read about this discovery on OPB, Oregon Live, and NPR.
PUBLICATIONS USING WOLVERINE TRACKING PROJECT DATA
Data has been used by researchers for a number of different studies and management publications.
A Conservation Strategy for the Sierra Nevada Red Fox (2022). An interagency publication prepared by the Sierra Nevada Red Fox Conservation Advisory Team
Quinn, C. B., Hiller, T. L., and Sacks, B.N. (2017). Distribution and Genetic Structure of the Sierra Nevada red fox in Oregon. Report to Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Quinn, C. B., et al. (2018) Predicting the Potential Distribution of the Sierra Nevada Red Fox in the Oregon Cascades. Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management, 9(2), 351–366.
Quinn, C.B., Preckler-Quisquater, S., Akins, J.R. et al. (2022). Contrasting genetic trajectories of endangered and expanding red fox populations in the western U.S. Heredity 129, 123–136.
Green, D.S., et al. (2023). A hierarchical modeling approach to predict the distribution and density of Sierra Nevada Red Fox. Journal of Mammalogy, 104(4), 820–832.
Mahmoud, Marwa. (2025). Montane Carnivore Detection and Occupancy in the High Oregon Cascades. Master’s Thesis, Washington State University.
Matthews, S., et al. In Press. Modeling fisher distribution, habitat, and population size in the Pacific states.
A Conservation Strategy for the Sierra Nevada Red Fox (2022). An interagency publication prepared by the Sierra Nevada Red Fox Conservation Advisory Team
Quinn, C. B., Hiller, T. L., and Sacks, B.N. (2017). Distribution and Genetic Structure of the Sierra Nevada red fox in Oregon. Report to Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Quinn, C. B., et al. (2018) Predicting the Potential Distribution of the Sierra Nevada Red Fox in the Oregon Cascades. Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management, 9(2), 351–366.
Quinn, C.B., Preckler-Quisquater, S., Akins, J.R. et al. (2022). Contrasting genetic trajectories of endangered and expanding red fox populations in the western U.S. Heredity 129, 123–136.
Green, D.S., et al. (2023). A hierarchical modeling approach to predict the distribution and density of Sierra Nevada Red Fox. Journal of Mammalogy, 104(4), 820–832.
Mahmoud, Marwa. (2025). Montane Carnivore Detection and Occupancy in the High Oregon Cascades. Master’s Thesis, Washington State University.
Matthews, S., et al. In Press. Modeling fisher distribution, habitat, and population size in the Pacific states.
Animals documented:
Mt. Hood National Forest is home to abundant and diverse wildlife. The Wolverine Tracking Project is primarily interested in documenting four native carnivores: gray wolf, Sierra Nevada red fox, Pacific marten, and wolverine - the last of whom we are monitoring for their return to the mountain. However, we also document many mammals and ground birds that visit our camera sites and are encountered on our tracking and scat surveys.
The lists below show the species that we have recorded over the years.
The lists below show the species that we have recorded over the years.
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Annual research reportS
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The Wolverine Tracking Project Annual Report details the survey protocols, findings, and volunteer involvement.
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WTP Camera Locations in Mt. Hood National Forest 2010-2017.
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