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| Fishers in Washington |
RELATED INFORMATION |
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The fisher reintroduction is conducted through a partnership of agencies and organizations. Project management is jointly provided by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Olympic National Park. The U.S. Geological Survey, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Olympic National Park are leading a research program, including monitoring, to evaluate the success of the reintroduction. Other partners and cooperators are providing financial or logistical support for management and research tasks. |
Olympic
Fisher Reintroduction Updates
2008
These updates contain unpublished, provisional data subject to revision. Note: Click images to enlarge. October 18, 2009 This update contains unpublished, provisional data subject to revision. We remained busy throughout late summer trying to confirm reproduction by radio-collared females in some of the more remote areas of the Olympic Peninsula. With the help of a number of volunteers from Conservation Northwest and Betsy Howell from Olympic National Forest, baited camera stations have been placed in the Buckhorn Wilderness Area of Olympic National Forest to see if fisher female F001 has kits with her. The effort is just recently underway, but volunteers have already gotten photos of a radio-collared female fisher (presumably F001; Figure 1), but not kits, just yet. The effort to find kits with F001 will continue into October.
Similarly, we have been trying to confirm the presence of kits with another adult female, fisher F017, in the area between the Clearwater and Queets Rivers. Earlier efforts to locate F017 in a den were unsuccessful, so we switched to placing baited camera stations in an area where she spends much of her time. Despite 2 months of running camera stations, and many great pictures of F017 (Figure 2), we have not gotten any pictures of her with kits.
From September 8-12, project biologists attended the 5th International Martes Symposium, held at the University of Washington. It was a great opportunity to share information about the Olympic reintroduction project and to learn of recent research and management of Martes species from around the globe. A highlight of the Symposium was a field trip to the Olympic Fisher Reintroduction Project study area on Saturday the 12th. The bus ride and the weather were great for the 40-50 attendees (Figure 3), who got to see some of the best fisher habitat on the Olympic Peninsula and some of the largest remaining areas of temperate old growth forest in North America, in Olympic National Park. Project biologists led the field trip with stops at Hurricane Ridge (to see the visitor center and fisher home ranges), Crescent Lake (to hike up the Barnes Creek trail), and the Elwha Valley. At the Elwha Valley, the University of Washington’s Center for Conservation Biology presented a demonstration of the use of scat-sniffing dogs for research. From all accounts, the field trip was a smashing success.
We have also benefitted from the assistance of the Adam Dillon and Aaron Solem and their Wildlands Studies Class, who have trekked into the outback of Olympic National Park to retrieve two female fishers that died during the summer (F041 in the upper Grand Valley and F040 in the Tom Creek tributary of the Hoh River). The class was able to recover F041 in the Grand Valley, but had less luck recovering the collar of F040, which was located in an inaccessible slope in a very steep canyon. We have also recovered female F028 near Sappho, WA where she was apparently hit by a vehicle in late August. We are currently tracking 24 fishers, and recently found male M020 after having lost contact with him for several months. Most collared fishers appear to be consistently using localized areas now in late summer, however there are 7 animals that we have not located in several months. We will continue to try to find these as we keep track of the other 24. Upcoming Events We are currently gearing up for our last year of releases. We are targeting a capture and release of 45 fishers this year and are working with our contractors in BC to prepare for the fisher trapping season that starts on 15 November. We are looking into new radio-collar configurations from Holohil and have purchased 5 satellite collars (120 grams) that we plan to put on the first 5 big males we catch this year. We hope these collars provide a steady stream of data on these males during the first several months following their release in Olympic National Park. We will soon be working with Sirtrack to test these collars on the Olympic Peninsula, so that we can use the test data to inform how best to program the collars that will be deployed on males. The fisher reintroduction is conducted through a partnership of agencies and organizations. Project management is jointly provided by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Olympic National Park. The U.S. Geological Survey, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Olympic National Park are leading a research program, including monitoring, to evaluate the success of the reintroduction. Other partners and cooperators are providing financial or logistical support for management and research tasks. July 21, 2009 More fisher kits found! Since our last update we have found den sites and documented successful reproduction for two more female fishers (F022 and F033). We found F022’s den site on 21 May, and obtained confirmation of successful reproduction through pictures of kits on 16 June. F022’s den was on Forest Service land just northeast of the Park. In the images we can see her moving kits around for several days (Figure 1), but in no frame do we see more than one kit. Consequently, we are unsure of her litter size; she may have moved one kit several times or she may have a litter of 2 or more kits.
We actually found two den sites for F033, both of which are in the Park near Lake Crescent. The first den site was found on 18 June, and the second on 1 July. At the later site we obtained over 1000 images of F033 and her two kits over a 5-day period. You can see video clips of F033 and her two kits (see link to video, and see other videos on the photo and video page of the fisher web page). As you can see, the kits are quite mobile at this time of year! Both F022 and F033 were released on 21 December 2008, as part of the second year’s releases. Both were pregnant prior to their release, and were able to successfully locate den sites prior to giving birth to kits this spring. We collected scats at each of the den sites for DNA analysis so we can genetically identify each fisher kit. There are several other females that may have given birth to kits this year. However, it is getting harder to locate den sites. Our efforts to document fisher reproduction will switch to trying to document female fishers traveling with kits by placing remote camera stations in a female’s home range throughout the rest of the summer. Monitoring released fishers We are now monitoring the movements of 34 fishers: 13 from the Year 1 release and 21 from Year 2. During the last 6 weeks, we scaled back aerial surveys in favor of spending more effort on the ground, locating den sites and documenting reproduction. Consequently, we have not located several wide-ranging fishers for a while. As the denning season winds down, we plan to refocus our efforts on documenting when and where fishers have established home ranges.
Since our last update (8 June 2009), we’ve had 2 more mortalities among the 31 recently released fishers: F054 was recovered in the Elwha in early June and F041’s radio collar was discovered on mortality mode in late June. F041 is located deep in the Park, and is presumed dead until we can hike to the area and investigate the site. The fisher reintroduction is conducted through a partnership of agencies and organizations. Project management is jointly provided by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Olympic National Park. The U.S. Geological Survey, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Olympic National Park are leading a research program, including monitoring, to evaluate the success of the reintroduction. Other partners and cooperators are providing financial or logistical support for management and research tasks. June 8, 2009 First fisher kits found! As we stated in the 17 April update, we planned to switch the emphasis of the monitoring efforts over the past month to focusing on the movements of adult females, and determining if and where they are denning. Those efforts paid off this month, when members of the fisher study field crew, Dave Manson and Josh Francis, found what we strongly suspected to be the den site of F007, a fisher that was released in January 2008. We suspected that she was denning in early April because her movements were concentrated in a small portion of her home range, however it took many trips into thePark’s backcountry to finally find the den site. The hike in to her location took about 2 hours, so she had plenty of time to leave a possible den site before Dave and Josh could get there, but persistence paid off and they finally found her at home. The morning of 12 May they found F007 in a cedar snag riddles with pileated woodpecker holes. They then placed out several remote cameras, hoping to document reuse of the snag by F007, which would indicate that she was using it as a den site. The cameras were deployed for 2 weeks, and when we recovered the data cards from the cameras we had photos of her going up the snag two different times, which was very exciting. However, we hit pay dirt on May 26th when we retrieved the data cards from the cameras and found pictures of F007 moving 4 kits to another den. You can see pictures of the den site and a video of F007 moving her kits at the photo and video gallery page at this web site. You can also see a video clip of F007 being released in the Elwha valley in January 2008 (video clip #7). Several other studies have documented a female fisher moving their kits to a new den site. It is thought that females may relocate the kits to lower den sites as the kits grow so they don’t fall from a great height as they start to walk and climb. What is a bit unusual is a litter size of 4; the mean litter size for fishers in the wild is around 2.2. We won’t know if all 4 will survive until dispersal age in the fall, but a litter this big is an indication that F007 has been successful in finding and procuring prey. The birth of these 4 kits is the result of F007 mating in the Spring of 2008 on the Olympic Peninsula with one of the first 6 reintroduced males. With the collection of hair and scat from F007’s kits (left at den sites), we may be able to determine the identity of her mate. As the denning season progresses, we are trying to locate the den sites of several other females that we suspect may have kits, while their movements are still restricted around the den site. Monitoring released fishers
Now that the breeding season is over, many of our wide roaming fishers have started moving around a lot less, and several of the roamers from the Year 1 release have returned to their former home ranges. Of particular note are M011 and M014, who have returned to their home ranges near Neah Bay and Ocean Shores, respectively (Figure 2).
We’ve had 2 more mortalities among the 31 recently released fishers: M031 was hit by a vehicle on Highway 101 on 4 May 2009 and the remains of M037 were recovered in the Quinault Valley on 6 May 2009. We are currently tracking 37 fishers; 14 of 18 released in Year 1, and 23 of 31 released in Year 2. The fisher reintroduction is conducted through a partnership of agencies and organizations. Project management is jointly provided by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Olympic National Park. The U.S. Geological Survey, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Olympic National Park are leading a research program, including monitoring, to evaluate the success of the reintroduction. Other partners and cooperators are providing financial or logistical support for management and research tasks. Update April 17, 2009 Monitoring released fishers
At present we are monitoring the movements of 38 fishers: 13 from Year 1 and 25 from Year 2. Careful readers may notice that there is one more animal from the Year 1 release than we reported in the last update. That increase is because we just found M002, the male that had been missing since his release on January 2008. We have been unable to track M002 because of interference with his radio-collar from a NOAA weather station. On 14 April we got a report of a fisher in a tree in west Port Angeles. Much to our surprise, it turned out to be M002 (Figure 2). It was still very difficult to get a clear signal from his radio-collar (even when we were close [<0.2 miles] to him), but it was great to find out that he has survived the last 14 months since we released him.
Three more of the 31 recently released fishers have died since our last update: F044 was recovered south of the Queets River on 30 March 2009, F026 was recovered in the upper Hoh on 9 April 2009, and F021 was recovered in the Sol Duc drainage on 16 April 2009. Volunteers Chiggers Stokes and Beth Rossow made an attempt to recover F040 last week (this was the 3rd try) but were unable to locate her. We’ll do a 4th and final try after the snow melts. Upcoming The fisher reintroduction is conducted through a partnership of agencies and organizations. Project management is jointly provided by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Olympic National Park. The U.S. Geological Survey, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Olympic National Park are leading a research program, including monitoring, to evaluate the success of the reintroduction. Other partners and cooperators are providing financial or logistical support for management and research tasks. Update March 2, 2009 February Fisher Release To date, we have released 49 fishers into the park: 16 males and 33 females. Due to the active participation of 12 different trappers throughout the region during the past 2 years, captured fishers came from a wide area and variety of habitats (Figure 1). We are hoping for a banner trapping year next year to bring us close to our goal of releasing 100 animals over the planned 3 years of reintroductions.
Monitoring released fishers
Upcoming The fisher reintroduction is conducted through a partnership of agencies and organizations. Project management is jointly provided by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Olympic National Park. The U.S. Geological Survey, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Olympic National Park are leading a research program, including monitoring, to evaluate the success of the reintroduction. Other partners and cooperators are providing financial or logistical support for management and research tasks. Update January 29, 2009 The continued success of BC trappers through late December 2008 and early January of 2009 recently provided us with a second batch of fishers for release this winter (Figure 1). Dave Manson (Olympic National Park), Harriet Allen (WDFW) and Jeff Lewis (WDFW) made the trip to Williams Lake, British Columbia from 13-16 January to prepare fishers for reintroduction and to transport them to Washington (Figures 2 and 3). We want to acknowledge the invaluable assistance of Dr. Helen Schwantje (BC Ministry of Environment veterinarian) and Larry Davis (Simon Fraser University) in the preparation, care, and handling of fishers in BC.
On 17 January 2009 we released 15 fishers (9 females and 6 males) into Olympic National Park. Five fishers (3 females and 2 males) were released in each of three drainages: the Skokomish, Hoh and Queets. Our goal was to release fishers in three new areas and to release sub-adult and adult males in areas where there were resident females (those released in early 2008 who had settled into an area) but no resident males (i.e., Skokomish and Queets drainages). Hopefully, the addition of these new fishers will provide increased mating opportunities for resident and newly-released females. The release in the Hoh and Queets provided an opportunity for agencies, tribes, and interested citizens on the west side of the Olympic Peninsula to witness and participate in a fisher release. The release in the Skokomish drainage provided an opportunity for representatives from the lead agencies, partner organizations, and local tribes to meet, participate in the release, and enjoy a beautiful day in the field. Several media representatives were also at the Skokomish release site, and the release was an opportunity for the lead agencies to highlight the cooperative research and monitoring efforts associated with the reintroduction. After a long ride from British Columbia, each of the 15 radio-collared fishers departed for the forested cover of the park, with delay (Figure 4). With 18 fishers released in January and March of 2008 and 14 released on 21 December 2008, the release of these 15 fishers on 17 January 2009 brings the total number of fishers released in Olympic National Park to 47.
Monitoring released fishers Our aerial telemetry flights have been successful at locating 13 of the 14 fishers released on 21 December 2008 (Figure 5). Several of these fishers have already made substantial movements; with male M020 traveling 25 km from the Elwha drainage to the Sol Duc drainage, and female F027 traveling from the Sol Duc drainage to the Elwha drainage (Figure 5).
Upcoming We hope to complete this season’s release activities by releasing as many as 11 additional fishers by the end of February, 2009. There are already 2 fishers waiting up in BC for this winter’s last round of releases. The fisher reintroduction is conducted through a partnership of agencies and organizations. Project management is jointly provided by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Olympic National Park. The U.S. Geological Survey, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Olympic National Park are leading a research program, including monitoring, to evaluate the success of the reintroduction. Other partners and cooperators are providing financial or logistical support for management and research tasks. Update January 7, 2009 The fisher trapping season in British Columbia got very busy in mid December, and on December 17 we headed up to Williams Lake to process and transport the first batch of fishers caught thus far during the 2008/2009 trapping season. After a very warm and pleasant fall, winter weather came in with a vengeance at just this time, so the trip was very interesting, to say the least. We drove up in a snowstorm, worked in BC at temperatures less than -200C, and drove back in a snowstorm! During the processing, all fishers were examined by a Dr. Helen Schwantje (BC Ministry of Environment veterinarian), measured, photographed, equipped with a radio-collar; tissue samples were also taken to obtain DNA and to test for disease exposures (Figures 1 and 2).
We deployed digital cameras at baited stations this summer in an effort to document reproduction. Although we did not obtain any pictures of fisher kits, we were successful in luring and photographing adult female fishers at both camera stations (Figure 2).
The winter weather continued during the day scheduled for the release, but thanks to the heroic efforts by Les Young of Olympic National Park’s road crew, who plowed the roads right in from of the vehicles carrying the fishers, we were able to safely release 14 fishers in the Park on December 21, 2008. Five were released in the Elwha Valley and nine in the Sol Duc drainage (Figure 3); see a video clip of a fisher released in the Sol Duc. Since the release event, weather conditions have permitted us to conduct two incomplete telemetry flights; 12 of the 14 newly released fishers were relocated during those two flights and those 12 were alive and moving. As soon as the weather conditions improve again, we will continue to track all 14 as well as the 13 fishers that we are still radio-tracking from the first year’s releases.
Meanwhile, up in British Columbia the busy trapping season continues, and there are 13 in captivity awaiting the next round of releases for this year! The fisher reintroduction is conducted through a partnership of agencies and organizations. Project management is jointly provided by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Olympic National Park. The U.S. Geological Survey, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Olympic National Park are leading a research program, including monitoring, to evaluate the success of the reintroduction. Other partners and cooperators are providing financial or logistical support for management and research tasks. Update December 1, 2008 Throughout November we continued to monitor locations of fishers that had functional radio-transmitters (i.e., 13 fishers). There are no new mortalities or radio failures to report for this month, and all 13 fishers have consistently remained in the area in which they were found last month. (see Figure 1).
Meanwhile, we continue to prepare for the next round of fisher releases. Fisher trapping for the project began in British Columbia on November 1. Although not all trap lines are currently active, we do have 19 trappers signed up to participate in the program. At present we have 8 animals awaiting transport in BC (Figure 2). We hope to be able to release around 40 new fishers in 2009, in two or three release events. When we have 12 -15 animals in captivity we will head up to get the first batch!
The fisher reintroduction is conducted through a partnership of agencies and organizations. Project management is jointly provided by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Olympic National Park. The U.S. Geological Survey, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Olympic National Park are leading a research program, including monitoring, to evaluate the success of the reintroduction. Other partners and cooperators are providing financial or logistical support for management and research tasks. Update November 6, 2008 Throughout October we continued to monitor locations of fishers that had functional radio-transmitters (i.e., 15 fishers). All 15 fishers have consistently used a localized area during September and October, and some have used the same area since May (see Figure 1)! We greatly appreciate the assistance of the Makah Tribe’s wildlife staff for their efforts in radio-tracking M011, who is staying put on the Makah Reservation in the northwestern corner of the Olympic Peninsula.
M005 was found dead this month along Highway 101 (see location of orange dot). It appears that he was killed by a vehicle collision, but we will send off his carcass for necropsy to confirm the cause of death. The implant radio-transmitter of M009 appears to have failed prematurely, and M011’s implant radio-transmitter was in the process of failing. Thanks to the quick and skilled assistance from the Makah tribal biologist, Rob McCoy, we were able to recapture M011, re-equip him with a functional radio-transmitter collar (Figure 2), and release him back on the Makah Reservation.
Meanwhile, all preparations are complete for the next round of fisher trapping in British Columbia. The trapping season opened on November 1, and right now there are 19 trappers participating in the program. Our first fisher of the 2008-2009 British Columbia trapping season was captured on 3 November 2008: a 5.2 lb female. We hope to capture and release approximately 40 more fishers this winter. The fisher reintroduction is conducted through a partnership of agencies and organizations. Project management is jointly provided by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Olympic National Park. The U.S. Geological Survey, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Olympic National Park are leading a research program, including monitoring, to evaluate the success of the reintroduction. Other partners and cooperators are providing financial or logistical support for management and research tasks. Update October 7, 2008 Throughout September we continued to monitor locations of 15 fishers that have functional radio-transmitters. All 15 fishers are still alive and several have begun to localize movements within a consistent area during the summer (see 1 June to 30 September locations in Figure 1).
We deployed digital cameras at baited stations this summer in an effort to document reproduction. Although we did not obtain any pictures of fisher kits, we were successful in luring and photographing adult female fishers at both camera stations (Figure 2).
The cameras take pictures in very quick succession, such that picture frames can be made into a video. Attached is a short film made of sequential images taken at one camera station. During low light and at nighttime, the camera shoots black and white photos using an infra-red flash. During brighter-light conditions it can take color pictures.
The fisher reintroduction is conducted through a partnership of agencies and organizations. Project management is jointly provided by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Olympic National Park. The U.S. Geological Survey, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Olympic National Park are leading a research program, including monitoring, to evaluate the success of the reintroduction. Other partners and cooperators are providing financial or logistical support for management and research tasks. Update August 28, 2008 This update contains unpublished, provisional data subject to revision. Jeff Lewis (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife), Patti Happe and Dave Manson (Olympic National Park) and Kurt Jenkins (US Geological Survey) Throughout July and August we continued to track 15 fishers that have functional radio-transmitters. Distribution patterns are similar to what was observed in June (Figure 1).
During summer, several males began to concentrate use in localized areas (Figure 2). This behavior is consistent with animals that may be settling into home ranges after the breeding season, which for fishers, typically ends in May.
Several females (F001, F012, F016, and F017) continue to make long distance movements between subsequent telemetry locations (Figure 3). Tracking the movements of both males and females continues to be one of our main objectives in an effort to determine if and when individuals establish home ranges.
Limited access to the interior of Olympic National Park has made it challenging to determine if any of the females has produced kits. Consequently, in July we deployed two digital cameras at baited stations within an area commonly used by female F003. We hope that F003, and any kits she may have, are lured to these camera stations and photographed, providing evidence of successful reproduction by a reintroduced female. Finally, we have begun getting ready for the next round of fisher releases, scheduled for this coming winter. We hope to release about 40 fishers in the winter of 2008/2009. As with the first round, all released fishers will be equipped with radio transmitters. The fisher reintroduction is conducted through a partnership of agencies and organizations. Project management is jointly provided by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Olympic National Park. The U.S. Geological Survey, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Olympic National Park are leading a research program, including monitoring, to evaluate the success of the reintroduction. Other partners and cooperators are providing financial or logistical support for management and research tasks. During summer, several males began to concentrate use in localized areas (Figure 2). This behavior is consistent with animals that may be settling into home ranges after the breeding season, which for fishers, typically ends in May. Update June 18, 2008 Through June we have continued to track the survival and movements of 15 of the 18 released fishers. Of the remaining 3, one has died, one is presumed dead (see the May update) and one cannot be found due to radio interference (20 February Update). This month we located several fishers that we had not been able to find for several weeks. For example, male M014 was last located on 4 March 2008, two days after his release. Eighty days later on 23 May, we located him south of the lower Quinault River (Figure 1), 76km from his previous location. Male M005 has also traveled extensively (see map below and May 19, 2008 update) and recently moved from Lake Cushman in the southeastern Olympic Peninsula to the Lake Pleasant area in the northwestern Peninsula; traveling a distance of at least 99km over 17 days.
We continue to track three females (F003, F007 and F018) to determine if they have had kits. While walking in to locate female F007, we intercepted her tracks in the snow and found where she had killed and consumed most of a mountain beaver (Figure 3). Fisher predation on mountain beavers was expected, however this is the first evidence that we have collected to confirm fisher predation and consumption of mountain beavers.
The fisher reintroduction is conducted through a partnership of agencies and organizations. Project management is jointly provided by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Olympic National Park. The U.S. Geological Survey, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Olympic National Park are leading research and monitoring to evaluate the success of the reintroduction. Other partners and cooperators are providing a variety of financial or logistical contributions in support of fisher management, research and monitoring. Update May 19, 2008 We have continued to monitor the movements and survival of the reintroduced fishers through the end of April and the beginning of May. Although most fishers continue to use areas in the northern portion of the park, the wide-ranging movements of some individuals (see figure), make for challenging radio-tracking and long flights! Of note are the long-distance movements of male M005, who was found one week in the upper Hoh River drainage, and the following week in the Skokomish River drainage. Meanwhile, F017, who spent several weeks on the southeastern corner of the Olympics, was found most recently in the upper Hoh. Male M011, who we were not able to find for 3 weeks, was eventually discovered to be west of Olympic National Park, near Dickey Lake. Last week he was found back in the park, but this time in the coastal strip near Lake Ozette.
In the April 11th update, we reported the death of a female (F008). The preliminary forensics investigation indicated that she was killed by a bobcat (unpublished data, G. Wengert, University of California, Davis). This determination was confirmed through DNA analysis of swabs taken at the wound sites, material recovered under her claws, and fur adjacent to the wounds. We received a mortality signal on another fisher, F015, two weeks ago. The location of her signal is deep in the park, far from any roads or trails. It is unlikely that we will be able to retrieve her carcass and conduct an autopsy. Update
April 11, 2008 In the last weeks of March, the combination of weather conditions and wide-ranging fisher movements complicated efforts to consistently locate the reintroduced fishers. With better weather in the first two weeks of April, we were able to get many flights in, and relocated 14 of the 18 fishers at least once. Also we were able to relocate several long-missing fishers (see figures).
We received a mortality signal on F008 on Tuesday, 8 April and recovered her carcass later that day. Damage to the carcass and evidence at the scene indicate predation as a possible cause of death. We are sending her carcass to a wildlife forensic lab for a definitive determination and a full necropsy. Although loss of an animal is unfortunate, this is not an unexpected occurrence. Because we are currently in the middle of the fisher birthing season (late March to early April), we have focused efforts these past few weeks on repeatedly locating females. Some have been relocated up to 5 times in the past 2 weeks. Documenting reproduction is an important indication of reintroduction success, and repeated locations of a female in a relatively small area (e.g., a portion of a drainage) can indicate that she is concentrating her movements around a den site and young (known as kits). Movement patterns of female F016 have been particularly interesting and challenging to monitor. She was released in the Elwha Watershed on 2 March and was relocated on 6 March near Lake Mills, but then disappeared. After extensive searching, we found her on 3 April in the South Fork of the Hoh, 37 km away from her 6 March location at Lake Mills. In the upcoming weeks, we will continue focusing our aerial tracking on females, and simultaneously conduct ground-telemetry monitoring on foot to locate females at den sites.
Other females also have moved remarkably long distances (Figure 3). After extensive searching, we located female F004 on 2 April in the upper Hoh River drainage, approximately 22 km from her last known location in the Little River drainage. Within 24 hours of locating her in the upper Hoh drainage, we located her in the lower portion of Cat Creek in the Elwha drainage, 14 km from her location on the previous day. On 18 March F015 and F017 were located in the headwaters of the Dosewallips River. They both moved over 30 km from their release site in the Elwha drainage on 2 March. F017 has subsequently been relocated in the Skokomish drainage, 25 km from her last known location and almost 50 km from her release site. Because females mate within 10 days after giving birth and non-pregnant females mate at the same time of year (approximately late March and April), we are also currently monitoring the proximity of males to females as an indication of mating opportunities and potential reproduction in 2009. We also will continue to search for the 4 fishers that were not located in the past 2 weeks.
Update
March 6, 2008 On March 2nd we released 7 more fishers into the Elwha Valley, bringing the total now roaming the Olympic Peninsula to 18 (12 females and 6 males). Thanks so much to all who helped with the capture, animal care, and release phases of the project this year, both in Washington and British Columbia!  Susan Piper (from Olympic National Forest) and her son Ronnen release F018 at Whiskey Bend (photo Coke Smith). The tracking crew was able to fly and relocate fishers on Tuesday, March 4th. We were able to get locations on all of the newly released fishers. We found that they all were alive and traveling substantial distances in just 2 days. 
Movements of newly released fishers, between 2-4 March 2008. We also relocated 8 of the 11 previously released fishers. Included in that group was M010, who we have not located on the past two flights. All are alive and moving throughout the landscape. They continue to spend most of their time in Olympic National Park and to a lesser extent in adjacent Olympic National Forest lands. 
Movements of fishers release on January 27, 2008. Sample period is 27 January through 4 March 2008. We are done releasing fishers for this winter, but have plans for further releases in the winters of 2009 and 2010. Our efforts now will concentrate on monitoring fisher movements and survival. In addition, several of the females are pregnant and possibly will be denning soon. We will also focus ground activities on locating female den sites and determining their reproductive success. Update February 27, 2008 The tracking crew was able to fly and relocate fishers on Tuesday, February 26th. This makes three consecutive weeks where we have been able to fly and gather data on fisher movements and survival. As happened last week, we were able to relocate 9 of the 11 released fishers. They continue to spend most of their time in Olympic National Park and to a lesser extent in adjacent Olympic National Forest lands. The average distance moved in the intervening 7 days between flights was 4 km (range 0.6 to 9.8 km). Some animals also have been tracked from the ground (M005, F004, and F007), and we are getting a more in-depth understanding of their movement patterns. 
Once again, the two fishers that we did not find were M002 and M010. We have been able to relocate M010 in the past, and we suspect we are either missing him, or he has moved somewhere. We plan to focus on him during our next flight. At present we have six fishers in captivity in British Columbia waiting for release on the Olympic Peninsula. The second, and final, release of the year will happen the first week of March, with additional releases planned in 2009 and 2010. Update February 20, 2008 We were able to take advantage of the lingering good weather that occurred here over Presidents Day Weekend, and conduct another fisher radio telemetry tracking flight on February 19th. (Our most recent prior flight was on February 13th). We relocated 9 of the 11 released fishers, and as reported last week, all are alive and still moving to varying degrees. The average distance moved in the intervening 6 days between flights was 6.7 km (range 1.4 to 18 km). The 2 fishers that we did not find were M002 and M010. Male M002 is the one we did not find last flight; his frequency still has a lot of radio interference - we discovered that it comes from a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather radio, so our ability to radio track this individual will be limited.
Update February 14, 2008 Seventeen days after the fishers were released into Olympic National Park, the series of winter storms hitting the Olympic Peninsula finally relented enough on February 13th to allow us to conduct an aerial telemetry flight over the entire release area and check up on the status of the released fishers. Prior to that date, we have been tracking via ground, and made two truncated aerial surveys. However those efforts allowed us to only cover a small portion of the study area, and we had intermittently heard from only 6 of the 11 released animals. On Wednesday February 13th, we relocated 10 of the 11 released fishers. We are obtaining records of movement as they explore the landscape. Several have crossed the Elwha River, and many have moved between drainages, successfully crossing high ridgelines in the middle of the winter. One male (M02) was not located on the 13th. The frequency of his collar coincides with considerable static on the receiver, which may make finding him more difficult. The average distance moved by the fishers in the 17 days between their release points and where we found them on the 13th is 9.5 km (5.9 miles), but movements varied from 3.2 to 21.2 km. Two have stayed in the general area of their release. The fishers that have moved have moved in all directions, and the two that moved the farthest, essentially switched places (to each other’s release sites) and then moved a bit more. All animals have stayed within federal lands, with 9 of 10 remaining entirely within the park, and one moving between the park and adjacent Olympic National Forest lands. They are using all elevations within the park and forest, ranging from 1400 to 4500 ft. Most of the fishers are using areas at or above the snow level in the area (which right now is between 1000 and 1500 ft).
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