In late October, we joined our partners at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the National Park Service and the Calgary Zoo to release fishers into the North Cascades. Alongside leaders from the Sauk-Suiattle, Stillaguamish and Tulalip Tribes and community members, we welcomed eight more fishers home.
The four female and four male fishers were humanely captured by trappers in Alberta, an effort coordinated by our Science and Conservation Director Dave Werntz. So far this season we have released 18 fishers into the North Cascades, and hope to return at least 20 more to this ecosystem by January.
“Fisher reintroduction has been a model collaboration; a public-private partnership that has grown to include local communities, Indigenous nations, forestry and others,” said Mitch Friedman, Executive Director of Conservation Northwest. “Everyone is pleased, except perhaps the porcupines and hares. It’s inspiring to see more of these charismatic creatures returned to the Cascades, and exciting to consider the possibilities that collaborative conservation holds for Washington’s natural heritage.”
Welcome home, fishers!
Video by Ted Grudowski: https://www.tedgrudowski.com/
