cascadia wild wolverine tracking project 2018-19 season report€¦ · cascadia wild wolverine...
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Cascadia WildWolverine Tracking Project
2018-19 Season Report
The Wolverine Tracking Project is a grassroots citizen science project in which trained volunteers conduct surveys for rare carnivores on the Mt Hood National Forest. The project has three objectives - to collect data on the occurrence of target rare carnivore species in the Mt Hood National Forest, to get people involved in their local national forest, and to teach participants about wildlife and the natural world. This report documents the 2018-19 season, running from April through the following March.
Project Description
Primary target species are wolverine, wolves, Sierra Nevada red fox, and marten. Information is also collected on all mammals species, with emphasis on carnivores. Three types of surveys were carried out. Camera trap surveys were done year-round, snow tracking surveys were carried out during the winter, and scat surveys were done in the summer. Genetic samples of red fox were collected when encountered during all surveys. Surveys followed the same protocol as previous years, see Appendix A for survey details.
2017-18 Season Results
Camera SurveysThis year, half of the cameras were placed at higher elevation areas near Mt Hood to target fox, focusing in the Mt Hood Meadows area during the summer and the Government Camp/Timberline areaduring the winter, and the other half were placed along the eastern boundary of the Forest to target wolves. We had 17 cameras operating in the summer and 16 in the winter, for a total of 4798 survey days. Most cameras were placed in one location for the summer and moved to a different location for the winter, except for the camera at Meadows was kept in the same place as last year and remained there for both the summer and the winter, the two Hazel Hollow cameras which were also in the same place for both the summer and winter, and another which was moved to three different sites during the summer. Six genetic samples that had the potential to be red fox were collected during the camera surveys: four scat samples, one urine sample, and one hair sample. Camera survey locations are shown in Figures 1 through 4, and results presented in Tables 1 and 2.
Tracking SurveysTracking surveys covered 55 miles, at 16 different locations within the snow zone around Mt Hood. Twenty-two trips in total were carried out, however one trip had snow conditions that were too poor fortracking, and three others had fairly poor tracking conditions. Survey locations are shown in Figures 5 and 6 and results presented in Table 3.
Scat SurveysForty-eight miles of trail was hiked in search of red fox scat. Two samples that had the potential to be from red fox were collected. Survey results are given in Table 4. All genetic samples will be given to Cascade Carnivore Project for analysis and inclusion in a region-wide study of montane red fox.
FindingsA camera detected two wolves traveling together inside the Mt Hood National Forest boundary during July. These photos added important confirmation to growing evidence that a new pack, now called the Warm Springs pack, had established residence. This is the first pack in this area since wolves were reintroduced to the western United States, so this is an exciting discovery!
Sierra Nevada red fox were detected at five locations. They showed up at both of the cameras located near the town of Government Camp, along the Pacific Crest Trail about a mile from Timberline Lodge, and at one of the two cameras located half way in between those locations; none were detected in the less heavily used areas east of Timberline Road. One also continued to visit the Meadows camera.
Marten were detected at Lemiti Creek, near the Ollalie Lakes Wilderness area at an elevation of 4220 ft, an unexpected find. They also visited all the cameras above 5000 ft around Mt Hood, in their typicalhabitat.
Wolverine were, again, not detected, but the project continues to provides a monitoring system to detectif they disperse back in.
Many non-target species were also recorded including, black bear, coyote, bobcat, cougar, river otter, weasel, striped skunk, spotted skunk, raccoon, elk, deer, and small rodents. Snowshoe hare seemed exceptionally abundant this year. This is a record year for the number of snowshoe hare trails recorded during a tracking survey, with one trip picking up 60 trails, and a second trip 42. Bear were seen throughout the summer at many of the mid to lower elevation camera sites, starting as soon as the cameras were put up in June and continuing through October when they were taken down. Cameras were put up in their winter locations fairly soon after they were taken down, however, bear were detected at only one location during the winter season, in October and November at a lower elevation site. The tracking surveys also detected one set of bear tracks in mid December at 4300ft elevation in the Tilly Jane area – preventing us from speculating that the bears all went into hibernation by November. Deer were quite common at all cameras during the summer, and at the lower elevation cameras during the winter. The camera that was up year round near Mt Hood Meadows (at 5680 ft) cangive a bit of anecdotal data on when they may start moving to higher elevations. Both deer and elk started appeared regularly on the Meadows camera starting in mid June. Camera detections of deer in the montane areas continued through October, and of elk until early November.
VolunteersVolunteers put in an immense number of hours to make this project successful. A total of 211 people were involved in the project, volunteering a total of over 3700 hours. For the tracking surveys, volunteers put in almost 1000 hours, for the camera surveys, over 2600 hours, and for the scat surveys, approximately 78 hours. Participants additionally donated over 28,700 miles of driving. The level of enthusiasm and commitment from volunteers is what continues to make this project a success.
Acknowledgments
Cascadia Wild would like to thank the Mt Hood National Forest and Defenders of Wildlife for their funding and support, without which this project could not happen.
Wolves on Mt Hood
Figure 1: Overview of summer camera survey locations
Figure 2: Summer camera survey locations in Mt Hood Meadows area
Table 1: Summer camera data
Suumer camera survey resultsMt Hood Meadows area Warm Springs boundary East side of Forest
Loca
tion
with
held
Location Tilly
Jan
e 20
17-1
8
Mea
dow
s 20
17-1
8
Mea
dow
s B
uild
ings
Mea
dow
s S
ki L
ift
Cla
rk C
reek
Elk
Mea
dow
s
New
ton
Upp
er
Lam
bert
son
But
te
Jack
pot
Mea
dow
Dry
Cre
ek
War
m S
prin
gs M
eado
w
Pin
head
But
te
Lem
iti C
reek
Haz
el H
ollo
w #
1
Haz
el H
ollo
w #
2
McC
ubbi
ns G
ulch
Cam
as P
rairi
e
Cam
as P
rairi
e E
ast
Whi
te R
iver
#1
Whi
te R
iver
#2
End Date 05/2
0/18
09/2
3/18
10/2
8/18
10/2
8/18
10/1
9/18
10/2
8/18
10/1
5/18
10/1
3/18
09/2
9/18
10/1
3/18
10/1
4/18
10/1
4/18
10/2
1/18
10/1
4/18
04/1
5/18
10/1
4/18
10/1
4/18
03/0
3/18
05/2
8/18
10/1
5/18
Start date 04/2
8/18
05/2
0/18
06/2
3/18
06/2
3/18
06/1
7/18
06/2
4/18
06/3
0/18
07/0
1/18
05/2
6/18
06/1
0/18
06/0
9/18
06/0
9/18
06/1
0/18
04/1
5/18
10/1
4/18
04/1
5/18
04/1
5/18
02/1
0/18
04/2
2/18
05/2
9/18
Elv (ft) 6250
5680
5285
5820
4632
4965
5908
6346
3833
4167
3710
4075
4217
2750
2560
3240
3165
3250
3170
3160
Red fox x xWolf x xCoyote x x x x x x x x x x x x x xCougar x x x xBobcat x x xBlack bear x x x x x x x x x x xMarten x x x x x x xWeasel xStriped skunk x x x x xSpotted skunk xRaccoon xDeer x x x x x x x x x x x x x x xElk x x x x x x x x xBrush rabbit/Snowshoe hare x x x x x x xDouglas squirrel x x x x x x xFlying squirrel x x x x xWestern gray squirrel x x x xCalifornia ground squirrel xGolden mantled ground squirrel xChipmunk x x x xMouse x xTurkey x
Figure 3: Overview of winter camera survey locations
Figure 4: Winter camera survey locations in Government Camp/Timberline area
Table 2: Winter camera data
Table : Winter camera survey results
Gov’t Camp / Timberline area Forest boundary area
Location Litt
le Z
igza
g
Mea
dow
s
Gla
de
Alp
ine
Yel
low
jack
et E
ast
Yel
low
jack
et W
est
Gov
’t C
amp
Eas
t
Gov
’t C
amp
Wes
t
Cle
ar L
ake
Bea
r S
prin
gs N
ear
Bea
r S
prin
gs F
ar
Haz
el H
ollo
w #
1
Haz
el H
ollo
w #
2
OD
FW
land
End Date 05/0
7/19
4/6/
19
4/20
/19
4/28
/19
4/21
/19
4/20
/19
04/0
6/19
04/0
7/19
04/2
8/19
04/2
8/19
pend
ing
pend
ing
12/7
/18
4/28
/19
4/28
/19
Start date 10/2
7/18
10/2
8/18
11/1
8/18
11/1
8/18
11/1
8/18
11/1
1/18
11/1
1/18
11/1
0/18
11/1
0/18
11/2
5/18
10/1
5/18
11/1
0/18
11/1
0/18
Elevation (ft) 5780
5680
5100
4440
4240
4300
4100
4000
3480
3420
3200
2750
2560
2380
2300
2300
Red fox x x x x x
Coyote x x x x x x x T* x x x x
Bobcat x x x x x x x x x
Cougar x
Marten x x x
Weasel x
River otter x
Striped skunk x
Black bear x
Black tailed deer x x x x x
Elk x x x x x x
Brush rabbit/Snowshoe hare x x x x x x x x x
Douglas squirrel x T* x x x x x x x
Flying squirrel x
Western gray squirrel x x x
Bushy tailed woodrat x
Mouse xTurkey x xSooty grouse x
* Tracks seen while servicing camera
McC
ubbi
ns G
ulch
W
inte
r #1
McC
ubbi
ns G
ulch
W
inte
r #2
rem
aini
ng
up
con’
t fro
m
sum
mer
con’
t fro
m
sum
mer
con’
t fro
m
sum
mer
Figure 5: Overview of winter tracking survey locations
Figure 4: Winter tracking survey locations around Mt Hood
Table 3: Winter tracking data
Table 4: Scat survey results
Date Location06/29/18 Clear Lake Butte 0.1 no07/07/18 Mazama Trail to McNeil Point 6 no08/23/18 Timberline Lodge/Paradise Park Loop 12 noearly Sept Timberline Lodge to Ramona Falls 20.2 no09/21/18 Timberline loop 10 2
Total 48.3 2
Distance Surveyed (miles)
# Samples Collected
Tracking Survey Results
Location Tim
ber
line
Gov
’t C
am
p
Gov
’t C
amp
Gov
’t C
amp
Gov’
t C
am
p
Gla
cier
Vie
w
Sno
wbun
ny
Sno
wbu
nny
Bar
low
Pass
Bar
low
Pass
Pio
neer
Wom
ans
Gra
ve
Sal
mon
Riv
er M
eadow
Fro
g La
ke
Whi
te R
iver
Cla
rk C
reek
Teac
up
Lak
e
Little
John
Littl
e Jo
hn
Clo
ud C
ap R
d
Tilly
Jan
e
Bea
r S
prin
gs
Oak
ridge
Tra
il
Date 2/3/
19
12/
2/1
8
12/9
/18
12/3
0/18
3/3
0/19
1/2
3/19
1/2
1/19
2/7/
19
12/
16/
18
1/5/
19
3/10
/19
3/2/
19
1/2
6/1
9
12/1
5/18
3/24
/19
2/2
3/19
1/19
/19
01/2
0/19
1/6
/19
12/8
/18
1/12
/19
2/1
7/1
9
Elevation(ft) 5700
410
0
4100
4100
410
0
360
0
400
0
4000
400
0
4000
3900
3400
400
0
4200
4600
440
0
3400
3400
390
0
4400
3400
200
0
Coyote 1 1 1 1/1* 1 1 3
Bobcat 10 1 1
Weasel 1 3 3 2 1 1
Marten 4
Black bear 1
Deer 3/1*
Elk 1*
Douglas squirrel 10/1* 17 19 2 2/1* 7 11 12 16/1* 12 7 2 6 4 8 16 4 11 14 18
Snowshoe hare 36 60 3 1/1* 26 42/2* 20 15 6 22 1 5 4 12 2 13
Mouse/Vole 1 4 1 2 10 1 1 1 2 1 5
Grouse 1
3 3 2 3 0 2 3 4 3 2 2 3 1 4 1 2 3 2 3 3 1 3
*denotes sign other than tracks
Snow Tracking Quality (0=worst, 4=best)
Appendix A: Project Description
Tracking surveys:Snow tracking surveys are carried out on snowshoes, most weekends from mid December through the end of March. Trips are lead by highly trained volunteer trip leaders, who are responsible for both the quality of the data and for mentoring survey participants.
Every animal trail that crosses the survey path is recorded. A GPS waypoint and additional documentation are also taken for all carnivores. Snow quality (the ability of the snow to record clear tracks) and habitat information are also collected.
Tracking survey locations are chosen based on accessibility during the winter and snow conditions. Surveys are generally conducted along recreational trails or closed roads, with the exact routes determined by the trip leader on the day of the trip. Trip dates are decided at the beginning of the season and cannot be timed to coincide with good snow conditions for tracking.
Camera surveys:Wildlife cameras are maintained year round. Cameras are generally moved twice a year, once to their summer locations and once to their winter locations. Most cameras are baited with meat, fox urine, anda long range scent lure designed for canines and mustelids (Caven's Gusto).
Scat surveys:Volunteers hike a section of trail of their choosing that is in the vicinity of Mt Hood and above 4000 ft elevation. While hiking, volunteers continually keep an eye out for potential red fox scat and collect any that is found.
Participant involvement: Tracking surveys are done in groups of up to 10 people, including two trip leaders. Trip leaders must pass a written evaluation before being qualified to lead. Trip participants attend a twopart training. Four sets of trainings were offered in November and December. On the trips, participants are given instruction in animal tracking and also in related topics such as natural history, awareness activities, and wilderness survival. The aim of this blend of topics is to increase not only participant’s knowledge, but also their feelings of being connected to their local area.
Camera survey volunteers are divided into groups of 58 people and each group is responsible for maintaining a camera for the season. Camera volunteers also attend two trainings, a two hour classroom session and a day long field session.
Scat survey volunteers go out on their own and are provided with a detailed instructional book and scat collection supplies.