Wolverine, North Cascades.Individual wolverines can be identified by their unique chest blaze. This female wolverine, affectionately known as Stella, has been captured on several of the projects camera traps.A North Cascades wolverine captured on a camera trap in 2018.Wolverine at a research station in the North Cascades.
Project volunteer Forest McBrian skiing in one of the drainages where the project has winter monitoring stations.Wolverine habitat in the Methow River watershed–vast rugged snow covered mountains. Wolverines spend much of their time right around treeline.
Steph Williams skiing through our study area in the Methow River watershed.the Liberty Bell Spires at Washington Pass sit in the center of the projects Methow study areaSteph Williams in the Methow river watershed.Liberty Bell massif in the mist in winter. North Cascades, Washington.
Steph Williams looks out across our study area in the North Cascades in the Methow River watershed
Steph Williams ascends towards a alpine pass in the North Cascades, a classic travel route for wolverines.Classic wolverine habitat in the North Cascades defined by great relief, steep, rugged and complicated terrain.
Our ski track on the left heading into wolverine habitat in the Lake Chelan watershed.Ski tracks in the North Cascades, Washington.North Cascades in winter.Steph Williams snowmobiles over slidepaths on Highway 20 in winter en route to research stations for CWPAvalanche forcaster Drew Lovell assessing the winter snowpack in the North Cascades.Roadkill deer is used for bait by Cascades Wolverine Project. Being carried into the backcountry here by project volunteer Forest McBrianSnowmobile recreation in the North CacadesSteph Williams works on installing a research station for wolverines in the North Cascades in a burned forest in the Methow River watershed.Volunteer Nick March hitches a ride in a project trailer near Washington Pass.Project volunteer Will Nielsen, an arborist, removes fallen trees from above our research station.Wolverine research in the North Cascades.Steph Williams secures bait high in a tree to ensure winter snow doesn’t cover it up. Methow River watershed.Steph Williams servicing a research station for Cascades Wolverine Project.Claire Waichler checks the trail camera to see who has been visiting a monitoring station.North Cascades wolverine.Every wolverine has a uniquely identifiable chest blaze, allowing researchers to keep track of individual animals that show up at different research sites.Snowshoe hare in snow.A wolverine inspects a deer mandible at a research station.A Pacific marten with the Liberty Bell spires in the background.North Cascades wolverine.A rare fisher in the North Cascades, evidence of a successful reintroduction campaign spearheaded by the state of Washington to return this species to the state.North Cascades wolverine.Golden Eagle at camera trap in the North Cascades.Pacific marten and aspen treeNorth Cascades wolverine.Bobcat inspecting a research station.Like wolverines, in the North Cascades, Clark’s nutcrackers are an alpine specialist.Lake Chelan, North Cascades.Steph Williams collecting a hair sample left by wolverine on a tre at a research station.Steph Willimas looks out over Lake Chelan with our equipment piled around her on the ferry ride into Holden Village.Bonanza peak through burned forest from the Wolverine Fire in Railroad Creek watershed.Bonanza Peak, North Cascades.The Wolverine fire in the Lake Chelan watershed decimated vast stands of forest in the mountains here. Climate change is affecting how fires burn in the North Cascades. The impact of this on wolverines is currently unknown.The Wolverine fire in the Lake Chelan watershed.Glacial ice exposed at the very top of the Colonial glacier (upper left of this photo) suggests that this glacier no longer has an accumulation zone. Under current conditions, it is just a matter of time before the glacier disappears completeley–perhaps within the next several decades.Smoke fills canyons on the western slope of the North Cascades during an unusual wildfire event in this rainforest clad landscape. Above treeline the grey ice and bare rock visible at the lower elevations of these North Cascades glaciers are a sign of glacier recession. Both of these are related to human caused climate change in the ecoregion which is predicted to reduce wolverine habitat significantly.Mountains goats are often an important food item for wolverines. In the North Cascades wildlife managers are concerned their numbers may be declining.Summer in the Glacier Peak wilderness from a location that commonly garners community science observations of wolverine activity.Mountain goat in summer conditions in the North Cascades.A hoary marmot in the alpine, North Cascades, another important food item for wolverines.Wolverines depend on locations where snow lingers into late spring, making natal dens in deep shaded valley bottoms or in high elevation talus fields.Project members servicing a research station in the Nooksack watershed. This runpole is at snowline at the peak of winter in this extremely snowy location.An American black bear caught scent marking at a research station.Wolverines are a curious species that will inspect novel things in their environment such as our research and camera equipment.White-tailed ptarmigan’s in the Cascades were recently protected under the federal endangered species act due to habitat decline, mirroring concerns about the future of wolverines in these mountains.
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Right hind track, likely placed directly on top of a front track of a wolverine. Photograph by David Moskowitz.Typical 1-2-1 track pattern of a loping wolverine. Photo by David MoskowitzTypical 2×2 pattern of a wolverine. Photo by Brian BoothIndividual footprint from the same trail as above of a wolverine. Photo by Brian Booth
