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HomeMy Public PortalAboutWildlife: WolverinesWolverines captured, collared by researchers Researcher Tony Fulsom holds up "Larry," a wolverine weighing in at about 30 pounds and estimated tobe2to4 years old. Photo by Rocky Mountain Research Station Four wolverines living on the Payette National Forest have been captured, fitted with tracking collars, and released back into the wild as part of research into how the animals respond to human activities in remote areas of the forest. "All of the wolverines are beautiful, healthy adults, and they will provide us with important information about their activities and movements," said Kin Heinemeyer, leader of the research effort. The traps used to capture the animals are hand -built of logs and are roomy, warm and safe, Heinemeyer said. The animals were anesthetized for 30 to 40 minutes, during which a GPS collar was attached to record the animal's location, hair is taken for DNA analysis, and a small ear tag placed to he4k identify the animal in the future. Efforts to enlist the public to report wolverine sightings are also meeting with success, she said. "The response has been amazing. Many people have volunteered to participate and are interested in what we are trying to do," Heinemeyer said. The Payette project is part of a large research effort led by the Rocky Mountain Research Station that spans three national forests and is intended to learn more about how wolverines react to human activities in their winter habitat and during the denning and kit -raising period. See WOLVERINES, Page B-12 Wolverines (Continued from Page B-1) Other partners on the project include the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Idaho State Snowmobile Association, Central Idaho Recreation Coalition and BrundageMountainResort, as well as the Payette, Sawtooth and Boise national forests. After a couple of years, the research will move to another area on one of the three national forests to increase the number of wolverines tracked, researchers said. Several area businesses have volunteered to provide drop-off locations for data - logging units and are offering discounts or even a free drink to people who turn in the devices. Participating businesses are Hinson Power Sports, Gravity Sports, McCall Brewery, Salmon River Brewery and Carl's Cycle in Boise. Also, everyone who carries a device will be entered into a drawing for a daypack, avalanche transceiver, shovel and probe donated by Black Diamond, Gravity Sports, CIRC and the ISSA. Drop boxes for the devices are also at the McCall Ranger District and Idaho Fish and Game office. For more information, contact idahowolverine@gmail.com. Researchers track the elusive wolverine on Payette fores BY DIANE EVANS MACK For The Star -News After eight months of quiet inactivity, small log cabins are back in service in the wilds of central Idaho. But don't expect to make a res- ervation for a back -country ski vacation, these cabins are not for human guests. They're designed to entice hungry or just plain curious wolverines to hop in, tug on some bait, and close the lid on themselves. In doing so, these enigmatic animals become key players in a research study initiated last winter on the Pay- ette National Forest to examine the interactions between winter recreation and wolverines. There is concern that remote areas wolverines occupy are no longer truly remote in winter due to increasing recreational activity. This changing human presence potentially could affect wolver- ines, especially where females are denning or raising their young, known as kits. A research project looking at this question is led by Kim Heinemeyer of Round River Conser- vation Studies and John Squires of the Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station. Idaho Department of Fish and Game is a partner, as are the Payette, Boise and Sawtooth national forests, Idaho State Snowmobile As- sociation, Central Idaho Recreation Coalition, Brundage Mountain Resort, University of Montana, The Wolverine Foundation, and Val- ley County. Tracking wolverines is one piece of the puzzle. Winter recreationists are the other. Last year, back country skiers and snowmobilers voluntarily wore small GPS data loggers and contributed more than 700 individual tracks that mapped where and when they traveled. When overlaid on the movements of six col- lared wolverines, these data began to show how these groups interact. Yet this kind of study requires several years in multiple locations. Remote Cameras Used On the Sawtooth forest, remote cameras and hair snagging brushes are collecting wolverine images and DNA as a first step to trapping next year. See WOLVERINE, Page A-3 Photo by Chris Klingler A remote camera captures an adult wolverine investigating a trap. Captured animals are fitted with radio tracking collars and released. Wolverine (Continued from Page A-7) The Payette forest study area was expanded to the Warm Lake area of the Boise forest. So far, two new wolverines, an adult male and an adult female, are "on the air" with radio collars. North of McCall, five of the six animals captured last year survived the summer and fall and were recaptured and col- lared again. Two new animals in this area also have been collared, one of which may be a kit from one of last year's female study animals. Field work will continue through April, when the ani- mals will be captured again to remove collars. (Diane Evans Mack is a regional wildlife biologist for the Idaho Dept. of Fish and Game's Southwest Region.) Payette wolverine research enters its second year, expands study area The second year of research on the elusive wolverine on the Payette Na- tional Forest has expanded its study area. The extent of the study was expanded to include more area around Burgdorf and also the Warm Lake drainage on the Boise Na- tional Forest. The crew of 12 full-time and part-time technicians and volunteers is based in McCall and Stanley along with four volunteer interns. This year's field season will continue through the end of April The team has 10 animals "on the air" with radio col- lars with all six of last year's animals being recaptured along with four new animals, a news release said. Among those re -captured was "`Larry," the large resi- dent male that was captured last year in the Hazard Lakes - Granite Lake area, and"Sid" and "Mo" who sometimes travel through the Lick Creek area. `Lucy' May Have Kits "Lilly," "Lucy," and "Bel- la" were also re -captured and are in good health. The team suspects that Lucy may have had kits last year and they have aptured and collared Jenny, who may be her daughter. The team has captured two new males, "Sergio" in the Hazard Lakes -Granite Lakes area, and "Mason" in the Warm Lake area. I "Tess," a new adult fe- male, has also been collared in the Warm Lake area. The team is using a new satellite -based trap trans- mitter which sends e-mail messages with trap status daily and immediately when a trap is triggered. This is a big improvement and is resulting in less stress for the animals and quicker responses from the team. The team is fairly certain that Lilly, Lucy and Jenny are not denning this year. They are not sure if Bella is denning as they have just recently found her about 25 miles south of where she was The team is using a new satellite -based trap transmitter which sends e-mail messages with trap status daily and immediately when a trap is triggered. of participating businesses please go to wwwforestcar- nivores.org and click the "wolverine" tab. The team completed an aerial recreation survey across the extent of the Payette and Boise forest study areas in early March and they hope to complete one over the Stanley area duringthe next patch of clear weather. The team cited "phe- nomenal" support from the community. One example was after the big snowfall in mid -January when team members were worried about their ability to break trail into some of the more remote trap areas. Expert Riders Found The team contacted San- dra Mitchell at the Idaho Snowmobile Association, who gave them the names of some expert McCall area sledders. Through this con- tact the team found a rider who was able to get them to a couple of the harder -to -reach traps. The team has developed a list of expert riders who could help break trail on big snow days. To learn more about the wolverine and the research project, gotowwwforestcar- nivores.org. AAAAAAA lAl[lLGly W11C11 a trap is triggered. This is a big improvement and is resulting in less stress for the animals and quicker responses from the team. The team is fairly certain that Lilly, Lucy and Jenny are not denning this year. They are not sure if Bella is denning as they have just recently found her about 25 miles south of where she was trapped. Tess is denning, and the team is pleased with this development. More than 700 people who carried wolverine logs while they traveled in the forest turned them in at parking lot drop boxes or local busi- nesses. All data collected remains anonymous and the team does not take any personal information from the data loggers. Fourteen businesses in McCall, Cascade, and New Meadows are offering ev- erything from a free beer Southwest Idaho Resource to a free cinnamon roll for Advisory Committee, and bringing in a log. For a list the Forest Service. 1GUUG1 J. 1111 V US11 1111J 1.V11- tact the team found a rider who was able to get them to a couple of the harder -to -reach traps. The team has developed a list of expert riders who could help break trail on big snow days. To learn more about the wolverine and the research project, go to wwwforestcar- nivores.org. All project newsletters, updates and documents are posted on the Web site. Project partners in- clude The Rocky Mountain Research Station, Valley County, Round River Con- servation Studies, Brundage Mountain Resort and the Central Idaho Recreation Coalition. Other partners are the Idaho State Snowmobile Association, The University of Montana, The Wolverine Foundation, Idaho Depart- ment of Fish and Game, The Ink A w aft, Back To Index/Menu G cameras capture elusive wolverine near McCall Study tries to determine where solitary animals live BY ROGER PHILLIPS for The Star -News The forest floor has a thick blanket of snow topped by a layer of bone -chilling air that's so still a creaking tree sounds like an air horn. It appears all animals have abandoned the forest for warmer dimes, but Idaho Department of Fish and Game biologist Diane Evans Mack's remote cameras tell a different story. Only a tiny fraction of the public has ever encountered a wolverine, and it's difficult to determine how many are out there. The fish and game department is trying to learn where wolverines live, or at least, where they are likely to live. It is part of a four -state project with Wyoming, Montana and Washington to predict the likelihood that wolverine inhabit certain areas. Each camera site has the same model of camera, the same bait of a deer or elk leg, and the same array of four wire brushes that jut out from the trunk. Hm,1,u..m>Idaho Ikwrimmto+HMI and t:m" An Idaho Fish and Game camera niches an elusive The brushes catch hair as the animals climb the trunk to wolverine eating from a frozen deer leg placed as bait about t2 miles northeast or McCall. give biologists a genetic sample so they can tell if more than one wolverine visited the site. From the data, biologists will generate a "probability of occupancy map." F&G wildlife technicians Luke Ferguson of McCall and Peter Ott of Marsing ride snowmobiles and ski into remote sites that are typically between 7,000 and 9,000 feet during some of the most inhospitable winter weather. "It's a lot of fun and real rewarding, but it's not easy," Ott said. Stinky Lure Besides the deer leg, an additional lure is a sponge saturated with a viscous blend of skunk scent and beaver castor, which is a combo that smells as pungent as it sounds. "So far, we've had an animal of some variety on every camera," Ferguson said. Aside from wolverines, their cameras have captured fishers, martens, birds, foxes, coyotes, wolves and even deer before the snow got too deep. One of the 61 camera sites in Idaho is about 12 miles northeast of McCall, an area where wolverines have been known to inhabit in recent years. Recently, the camera recorded at least one wolverine and American marten that consumed an entire deer leg during a series of visits. If it was a male wolverine, chances are good it was the only one in the area. Males are highly territorial and can claim up to 500 square miles. Previous research in the McCall area showed a dear demarcation line between two adjacent males' territories. During winter, wolverines largely switch from carnivores to scavengers, and they're experts at finding and consuming carrion, which explains how a frozen deer leg was devoured like a Thanksgiving turkey. Wolverines can find food beneath a thick layer of snow, and they even have a specialized upper molar in the back of their mouths that helps them chew meat that's frozen solid. (Roger Phillips is a public information specialist for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.) Travelers to the McCall Winter Carnival on Friday were delayed when a semi -truck slid off the highway south of Banks, the Idaho State Police Reporter said. The accident happened about 7:16 a.m., when the semi - truck driven Ian Laboucane, 50, of Washington Terrace, Utah, was traveling southbound with an empty trailer.