Olympic National Park Fisher Reintroduction Plan / Environmental Assessment

Olympic National Park

Olympic National Park encompasses approximately 922,651 acres on the Olympic Peninsula in the northwest corner of Washington State. The Park, of which approximately 95% is designated wilderness, is surrounded by a complex network of lands managed by federal and state agencies, American Indian tribes, and private landowners. At least 16 animal and 8 plant species that occur on the peninsula do not occur anywhere else in the world (NPS n.d.a, 1996b). Two speices have been lost from the ecosystem supported at Olympic National Park, including the fisher (Martes pennanti). Fishers are medium-sized carnivores with the body build of a stocky weasel. The fisher was listed by the state of Washington as an endangered species in 1998 and as a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act in 2004. Although the fisher is no longer found in the Park, it does exist in other regions of the United States and Canada. Fishers historically occurred throughout much of the low- to mid-elevation forested areas of Washington, including Olympic National Park. Two major factors contributed to the decline of fishers in Washington -- over-exploitation from commercial trapping, and loss, degradation, and fragmentation of suitable habitat. Poisoning, predator control, and incidental capture in traps set for other wildlife are also considered contributing factors in the decline of fishers in the state (Lewis and Hayes 2004). ... Reintroduction is considered the best way to restore fishers in Washington because of the absence of nearby populations to naturally recolonize the state. Fishers have been successfully reintriduced in 10 states and five provinces in North America, including Oregon, Montana, Idaho, and British Columbia. Based on the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife's Feasibility Assessment for Reintroducing Fishers to Washington (Lewis and Hayes 2004), the greatest amount of suitable fisher habitat in the state is in Olympic National Park, Olympic National Forest, and adjacent Washington Department of Natural Resources lands. Consequently, these lands are considered the most suitable location for the first reintroduction of fishers to the state.