October 10th approximately 8pm, I was leaving the woods after an unsuccessful night of hunting in Hood County. I had to make a decision; spend another night at camp or pack-up and drive home to make sure I made my soccer game on Sunday (we lost). I decided to pack up and go surprise the girlfriend back home, and allow myself some more sleep in the morning, but don’t let her know!
I arrived home around 1am after a long drive, which I always enjoy.
Getting side tracked, I must say I am a big fan of the Columbia River Gorge & Hood River County commissioners for there efforts and protections to keep both the Gorge & Hood River County such a beautiful and recreation filled place. Oregon & the rest of our country could take a page from there book on Urban Growth Boundaries.
Ok, sorry, getting back to the story!
I’m not one bit tired and lucky for me she wakes up the same. So I hopped into bed and grabbed Oregon Dept of Fish & Wildlife Conservation Strategy. Project Wilderness had already began plans to submit habitat restoration/biodiversity improvement in Hood River County, so I figured it would be a good chance to review the guide and see what animal and plant species we could assist with the project. The first page of the species table the fisher catches my eye. At that point I held no knowledge of the animal (oh how that has changed), but something about it stuck with me. I made notation to do further research at another time, it’s listed outside the area we’re working. As I turn the page, there is a short description and history of the fisher in Oregon. This only further intrigues me.
Image courtesy of extirpated.org
Historically the fisher inhabited from British Columbia to California. Preferred resting and den areas generally coincide with late-successional coniferous and mixed coniferous-deciduous forest. High forest canopy closure or multiple canopies and shrubs. Areas supporting diverse prey base are most used. Dens & rest sites are generally used in large diameter trees, large snags, tree cavities, and logs. To sum it up, they prefer forest which have the characteristics similar to old growth forest.
Terry Farrell, Oregon Fish & Wildlife assistant wildlife biologist in Roseburg is quoted stating he estimates there are less than 100 fishers total in Oregon. Those are in thanks to reintroductions in 1961, 1977 and 1981, when fishers were taken from British Columbia and Minnesota and released in Oregon forests to help control porcupine damage to timber. However very little to no tracking was done to track population growth or success of reintroduction.
In 2003 Keith Aubrey & Jeffery Lewis wrote an article; “Extirpation and reintroduction of fishers in Oregon”. In this article they researched sightings of fishers throughout Oregon. Categorizing the reliability of sightings with a number value of 1 to 6, one being the highest reliability (photographic data or trapped fisher) and 6 being the lowest (visual sighting only, no tangible evidence). Rankings 1 through 4 are then mapped. The highest volume of reliable reports came from the two populations in Southern Oregon. However reliable sightings are also mapped in or around Joseph, Tillamook and Mount Hood. Then research was done on any previous surveys, which, is greatly limited. The largest areas in Oregon surveyed included those where the 2 known populations call home. Which of course received positive identification of fishers habiting the area. No real data has ever been taken from other parts of the state. Leaving these couple questions open;
Are the populations in Southern Oregon growing, declining or stagnant?
Have fishers from Southern Oregon expanded to new areas?
Are their unknown populations of fishers in other parts of the state?
These and many other questions Project Wilderness would like to answer. We have submitted our initial proposal to receive authorization to formally assess the status of the fisher within Oregon.
Dominic Aiello
Founder & President
www.projectwilderness.org
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Dominic Aiello
