Cascades wildlife monitoring

Adopt a monitoring team! Help get cameras and volunteers in the field and get exclusive updates. Learn more

"These monitoring programs are important. They remind us that we do still live in a wild place. We should do all we can to respect our shared spaces," says remote camera sponsor Mary Vermillion.

Got wildlife? Got citizen volunteers!

Working two by two in the Cascades, wildlife monitors working with the Cascades Citizen Wildlife Monitoring Project document the presence and movement of wildlife, from wolverines to wolves to elk. The job combines wintertime snow tracking with year-long remote camera work.

Volunteers are trained and mentored by a partnership of Conservation Northwest, Wilderness Awareness School, and the I-90 Wildlife Bridges Coalition.

Enjoy more on Flickr and YouTube
View past monitoring reports

Conservation Northwest focuses on documenting priority wildlife (wolves, grizzly bears, and wolverines) in areas outside of the I-90 corridor. I-90 Wildlife Bridges Coalition leads on remote cameras along the interstate near key connectivity areas and proposed wildlife-crossing structures identified in the I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East Project. The Wilderness Awareness School heads up the wintertime tracking of priority wildlife, from bears to wolverines.

A broader, statewide program involves monitoring wildlife in Washington beyond the Cascades - in the Columbia Highlands and other areas around the state.

Interested in volunteering?

Some teams still need help. Contact Kit McGurn to find out more and to get on our volunteer email list so that you can be the first to learn of our next field opportunity.

Current season volunteers - visit our resources page!

Sponsor a monitoring team

Your gift purchases cameras and other equipment, helps volunteers get cameras placed, and makes sure rare wildlife are documented. Want to help keep this vital program going? Become a team sponsor today, and join in this important work.

Bobcat on camera, 2011

Photos and video

• Recent wildlife images at Conservation Northwest's Flickr site
• Watch video of 2011 summer-fall season highlights.
  

Reports

All reports are available for download as PDFs

• 2012 spring-fall report (remote cameras)
  
• 2011-2012 winter report (snowtracking and remote cameras)
  
• 2011 spring-fall report (remote cameras)
  
• 2010-2011 winter report (snowtracking and wolverine cameras)
• 2010 spring-fall report (remote cameras)
  
• 2009-2010 winter report (snowtracking)
  
• 2009 spring-fall report  (remote cameras)
• 2008-2009 winter report (snowtracking)
• 2008 spring-fall report (remote cameras)
  
• 2007-2008 winter report (snowtracking and I-90 remote cameras)
  
• 2006-2007 winter report (snowtracking)
  

Thank you, volunteers, advisory experts, and donors

This project happens only through the efforts of our excellent  volunteers as well as our expert advisory team members. We thank them all for their ongoing contributions to the project.

Advisory council:

Bill Gaines (Wenatchee-Okanogan National Forest), Chris Morgan (Grizzly Bear Outreach Project), Dave Moskowitz (Wilderness Awareness School), Don Gay (Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest), Jesse Plumage (Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest), Keith Aubrey (US Forest Service), Robert Long (Western Transportation Institute), Roger Christopherson (North Cascades National Park), and Joe Scott (Conservation Northwest)

Many thanks also to the ALEA program of WDFW, The Mountaineers Foundation, Charlotte Martin Foundation, Sustainable Northwest, Puget Sound Energy Foundation, Wilburforce Foundation.

For further information, please contact Jen Watkins.