Wolverine Tracking project
Community science wildlife surveys in Mt. Hood National Forest
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.
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.
Wolverine tracking project TARGET SPECIES
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Wolverine
Gulo gulo, Family Mustelidae 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.
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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, 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. 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.
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Gray Wolf
Canis lupus, Family Canidae Gray wolves, also once native but long extirpated from the Mt Hood area, have 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 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.
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Wolverine tracking project data
Having accurate data on the presence of rare species is crucial first step to understanding their needs. 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 and a healthy ecosystem can be maintained.
All data collected by the Wolverine Tracking Project are 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 Wolverine Tracking Project Annual Report
Check out our blog for recent trip reports and wildlife survey photos
All data collected by the Wolverine Tracking Project are 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 Wolverine Tracking Project Annual Report
Check out our blog for recent trip reports and wildlife survey photos
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
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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