Fishers, cascade frogs, Clark's nutcrackers, cougars, and grey wolves were just some of the critters discussed at this year's Wildlife Society conference.  The annual gathering brings together people working on wildlife issues regionwide to hear about the latest efforts underway in planning, researching, and tracking the remarkable array of species in our area.  So, what is new? Just a few updates from the conference are below:

• A fourth lynx was caught and tagged to enhance research on the population of this feline following large-scale fires.
• Graduate students in the Cle Elum and Roslyn area are continuing with their research associated with Project CAT. The project has engaged local high school students to track and tag the local cougar population, educate the public, and inform development decisions in the area.   The research was recently featured in a front page story in the Seattle Times.
• Research headed into the trees in the Wenatchee-Okanogan National Forest, where a researcher is looking at the Clark's nutcrackers unique relationship to western white pines.  The findings indicate that this tree species is highly dependent on this animal to crack and spread its seed.
• The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is working on its Wildlife Action Plans. These plans are part of a partnership with the Washington State Department of Transportation addressing safe passage and habitat linkage for wildlife at a statewide and ecoregional scale. As a staff member of the I-90 Wildlife Bridges Coalition (administered by Conservation Northwest), I was thrilled to see these two agencies forging a partnership for the future!
• You've seen our exciting reports of the Pacific fisher we helped bring back to the Olympic Peninsula for the first time in decades. Biologists are assessing how to best address recovering this species to the Cascades range and NE Washington.  The hope is to build off the restored population in the Olympics to reestablish a population in Washington's Cascades.