Evaluation of fisher (Pekania pennanti) restoration in Olympic National Park and the Olympic Recovery Area: 2016 final annual progress report

Happe, Patricia; Jenkins, Kurt; Kay, Thomas; Pilgrim, Kristy; Schwartz, Michael; Lewis, Jeffrey; Aubry, Kieth

With the translocation and release of 90 fishers (Pekania pennanti) from British Columbia to Olympic National Park during 2008–2010, the National Park Service (NPS) and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) accomplished the first phase of fisher restoration in Washington State. Beginning in 2013, we initiated a second phase of the project to determine the status of fishers on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula 3–8 years after the releases and to further evaluate the short-term success of the restoration program. Objectives of the study are to determine the current distribution of fishers and proportion of the recovery area that is currently occupied by fishers, genetic characteristics of the reintroduced population, and reproductive success of the founding animals through genetic studies. This was the final year of the study. In this report we summarize field accomplishments during the final year of field work (2016) and summarize data collected from 2013-16. We are currently analyzing the complete data set for a series of publications that will comprise the final reporting and interpretation of the current fisher status on the Peninsula. During 2016, we continued working with a broad coalition of cooperating agencies, tribes, and non-governmental organizations (NGO) to collect data on fisher distribution and genetics using non-invasive sampling methods. The sampling frame consisted of 775 24-km2 hexagons (hexes) distributed across all major land ownerships within the Olympic Peninsula. From this frame we selected 157 hexes for sampling fisher presence within a target survey area that comprised the majority of the peninsula where the reintroduced fishers initially established home ranges. Additionally we selected 59 hexes for potential sampling in an expansion area where fishers were likely to expand their range. During 2016, federal, state, tribal and NGO biologists and volunteers established three motion-sensing camera stations, paired with hair snaring devices, in 82 hexes (68 in the target area and 14 in the expansion areas). An additional 20 hexes were sampled in 1) a pilot study of fisher density (10 hexes), and 2) a follow-up of fishers detected on a companion coastal marten study during the winter of 2015-2016 (10 hexes), providing additional information on fisher presence. Each paired camera/hair station was left in place for approximately 6 weeks, with three checks on 2-week intervals. We documented fisher presence in 11 of the 82 hexes sampled as part of the fisher occupancy study in 2016. In two hexes we detected two different fishers. Ten fishers were identified through microsatellite DNA analyses. The 10 identified fishers included 3 of the original founding population of 90 translocated fishers and 7 new recruits to the population. Three additional fishers were detected with cameras but not DNA, consequently their identities were unknown. For the first time since initiating this study in 2013, we detected presence of fishers in the expansion area. Additionally, we identified fishers in 7 of the 10 hexes added for the density pilot and 6 of the 10 hexes added for the winter marten study follow-up. In those two efforts we identified 4 additional fishers that were not detected in the occupancy study. While conducting the occupancy study we also detected 46 other species of wildlife at the baited camera stations. We also obtained 5 additional confirmed records of fishers in the study area through photographs provided by the public, other researchers, and incidental live capture. Over the 4 years of study, we sampled for fishers in 179 hexes as part of the fisher occupancy study; 143 in the target area, and 36 in the expansion area. One hundred and fifteen (80%) of the hexes in the target area were sampled twice (at a 2 year interval) and 2 were sampled 3 times. All but two of the hexes in the expansion area were sampled only once.

Evaluation of fisher (Pekania pennanti) restoration in Olympic National Park and the Olympic Recovery Area: 2016 final annual progress report

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