GREETINGS,
Project Update: 25 March 2010
This week marks the end of our winter trapping season for wolverines in Washington and British Columbia. The low
snowpack and unseasonably warm temperatures this winter have resulted in a slightly shorter than usual trapping season,
but it has been a successful season.
3 WOLVERINES ARE CURRENTLY BEING TRACKED VIA SATELLITE:
Eowyn (a young, nulliparous female) was captured and collared on 1 February 2010 by the WA field crew (details were
covered in the last update). Eowyn does not have an established area yet and, since her capture in early February, she
has been exploring southern BC (see map in attached .pdf file). Eowyn has made some impressive movements: the
straight-line distance between her most southern satellite location in WA and her most northern location in BC is 287 km
(about 178 miles).
Rocky (an adult male) was captured and collared on 26 February 2010 by the BC field crew. Rocky was initially captured
at Hart's Pass in WA during the first year of our study (2006) and then again in 2008. When Rocky was captured in
February, he still had 1 of the ear tags we had attached during his 2008 capture, providing us with positive proof of his
identification. Rocky is at least 5 years old now, and his movements since mid-February are shown on a map in the
attached .pdf file.
A non-lactating adult female was captured and collared on 7 March 2010 by the BC field crew. We believe this female is
Melanie who we initially captured at Hart's Pass in 2006 and then again in 2007. Although "Melanie" did not have any
remaining ear tags, we based our tentative identification on the similarity of her throat and chest blazes to those in
photographs we took of Melanie in 2006 and 2007. Regardless, we collected a tissue sample and genetic analyses will
either verify that this female is in fact Melanie or a new individual. Melanie would be at least 5 years old now. "Melanie's"
movements since her capture earlier this month are shown on a map in the attached .pdf file.
We outfitted all 3 wolverines with Sirtrack satellite collars that are programmed to operate for 14 hours ON and then 34
hours OFF. With this duty cycle, we should be able to monitor the movements of all 3 wolverines thru the summer and
into early fall (for about 7-8 months). So, we will continue to send out periodic updates in the coming months.
SUCCESSFUL RESULTS AT REMOTE CAMERA STATIONS:
In our last update, we described the run-pole remote camera stations we deployed in both WA and BC (16 camera
stations total). This design is working well and we have detected 3 wolverines to date: Rocky was detected on multiple
days at camera stations in both WA and BC; "Melanie" was detected multiple days at 2 camera stations in BC; and Xena
was detected multiple days at a camera station in WA. We initially captured and collared Xena in 2007 in the Twisp River
drainage in WA. Xena is at least 4 years old now.
Although live-trapping efforts are done for the year, John Rohrer and Eric Lofroth will continue operating the camera
stations for as long as possible.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Please contact Keith Aubry if you would like to learn more about our study
(kaubry@fs.fed.us; 360-753-7586). Please contact me (Cathy Raley) if you would like your name removed from our
mailing list, or if you would like to add someone else to our mailing list. We thank everyone for their interest in this
research study.
Cathy Raley
Wildlife Biologist
USDA Forest Service
Pacific Northwest Research Station
3625 93rd Ave. SW
Olympia, WA 98512
LEAD PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR:
Keith Aubry (Pacific Northwest Research Station).
CO-PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS:
John Rohrer (Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest)
Cathy Raley (Pacific Northwest Research Station)
Eric Lofroth (British Columbia Ministry of Environment)
Scott Fitkin (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife)
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Olympia, WA 98512; March 25, 2010
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Movements based on location accuracy classes 3 (<150 m), 2
(150 to <350 m), and 1 (350 to <1,000 m). Data are preliminary.
Background image: Landsat 7 TM Bands 3, 4, and 5.
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Generalized path and direction of travel
based on 116 satellite locations from
2 February to 25 March 2010.
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Movements of Eowyn - A Young Female
Wolverine Live-Captured in Washington
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"Melanie's" movements
since 7 Mar 2010
Rocky's movements
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Melanie's 2007
Activity Area
Rocky's 2008
Activity Area
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Movements of 2 Adult Wolverines ("Melanie" and
Rocky) in British Columbia and Washington
Update 25 March 2010
Data represent general areas used by wolverines. Only accuracy
classes 3 (<150 m), 2 (150 to <350 m), and 1 (350 to <1,000 m) for
satellite location data were used. Data are preliminary. Background
image is Landsat 7 TM Bands 3, 4, and 5.
USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station
Olympia, WA 98512; March 25, 2010.
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Rainy Pass
Washington Pass
South Pass
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