First fishers born in Washington since reintroduction began

02/06/2009 10:24:19 June 2009. US Biologists have confirmed the first sightings of newborn fishers in Washington State since restoration of the state-endangered species began two years ago. Photographs downloaded from an automated camera placed deep in the Olympic National Park wilderness show a female fisher carrying four kits.

The female shown in the photograph is one of the first fishers reintroduced to Olympic National Park, released near Antelope Creek in the Elwha Valley in January 2008 as part of a multi-partner recovery plan to restore the once-native animal to its historical habitat.

The photographs, taken in May 2009, clearly show the female carrying four kits, one at a time. The camera and the den are located in a remote area of the park southeast of Port Angeles.

A female fisher, released in January 2008, carries one of four young from her den tree. US NPS.

Fisher den
"Finding fisher kits in Olympic National Park is a tremendously exciting milestone in the fisher restoration process," said Olympic National Park Superintendent Karen Gustin. "Locating the mother's den tree was like looking for a needle in a haystack, but after several weeks of careful tracking and wilderness hiking, biologists were overjoyed to have photographs of kits."

Fishers - Member of the weasel family
Fishers, which are large, stocky members of the weasel family, usually give birth in late March, using tree cavities as dens for one to four kits. Females often use several den sites while raising kits, moving them to dens closer to the ground as they become larger and more mobile.

"This is a very exciting outcome," said Phil Anderson, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) interim director. "Reproduction is a key measure of a successful reintroduction. The photos of these kits and indications that other females may be denning are signs that the fishers are adapting well to their new habitat and give great hope for the future of fisher recovery in Washington."

Fisher den site in Washington. Credit US NPS.

36 fishers released
Project biologists continue to track the movements of 36 fishers released since early 2008, and are investigating several other females believed to be denning. Additional fishers will be released into Olympic National Park this coming winter, the third and final year of the reintroduction effort. Fisher monitoring is expected to continue for another ten years.

"We're grateful to project partners Conservation Northwest and Washington's National Park Fund for their support of the remote camera monitoring," said Gustin. "Actual sightings of young fishers are extremely rare; without the automated cameras, we may have never known about this very noteworthy event."

Fisher reintroduction to Washington and Olympic National Park is made possible by a partnership of agencies and organizations. Project management is jointly provided by WDFW and ONP, while non-profit partner Conservation Northwest provides financial and administrative support for the project's operations in British Columbia.

The USGS, WDFW and ONP are leading the research program, including monitoring, to evaluate the success of the reintroduction. The research is funded primarily by the USGS, Washington's National Park Fund, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Conservation Northwest through the Doris Duke Foundation and the Wildlife Conservation Society, with additional financial and logistical support from a wide variety of groups for management and research tasks. The British Columbia Ministry of Environment actively supports the ongoing effort to capture and import fishers to Washington and the Makah Tribe is providing assistance in the monitoring effort.

Locally extinct
Fishers are native to the forests of Washington, including the Olympic Peninsula, but disappeared from the state decades ago. They were listed as a state endangered species in 1998 by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission and were designated as a candidate for federal listing in 2004 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Endangered Species Act. More information, including monthly updates from the monitoring effort, is available online here.