Extirpation and reintroduction of fishers (Martes pennanti) in Oregon: implications for their conservation in the Pacific states
Section snippets
Review of historical information
To evaluate potential causes for the extirpation of fisher populations in Oregon, we examined published literature, unpublished reports and documents at museums and state and federal resource management agencies, and the field notes of trappers and early naturalists. Because of strong commonalities in the vegetative composition and physiography of forested habitats in Washington and Oregon, habitat conditions for fishers are similar in both states (Franklin and Dyrness, 1973). Consequently, we
Direct mortality from trapping and predator control efforts
Overtrapping appears to have been the primary initial cause of fisher population losses in this region (Grinnell et al., 1937, Marshall, 1992, Scheffer, 1995). During the early 1900s, fishers were among the most valuable of all terrestrial furbearers (Novak et al., 1987, Lewis and Zielinski, 1996); in the early 1920s, prime skins were reportedly worth up to $150 each (Bailey, 1936). In addition, fishers are easily trapped (Powell, 1993), and the low- to mid-elevation coniferous forests where
Extirpation of fisher populations in the Pacific Northwest
Because of their low densities and reproductive rates, fisher populations are particularly susceptible to overtrapping; even small increases in mortality rates above natural levels may lead to local extirpations (Powell, 1979a, Powell, 1993). Powell (1979a) predicted that fisher populations at equilibrium densities in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan would decline to extinction if they were subjected to annual human-caused mortality rates of <1 to about 4 fishers per 100 km2, depending on the
Acknowledgements
We thank W. Zielinski of the USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station for allowing us to use unpublished data on weights of fishers from northwestern California, and for technical support throughout the course of this study. We thank M. Badry of the British Columbia Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection for providing data on recent trapping records of fishers in southern British Columbia. We are grateful to W. Zielinski, R. Powell, and C. Raley for helpful comments on a
References (74)
Report of fur-bearing animals
Oregon Sportsman
(1914)Notes from counties: Lane County
Oregon Sportsman
(1914)- et al.
Dispersal of juvenile fishers in Maine
Journal of Wildlife Management
(1993) - et al.
Distribution and status of the fisher (Martes pennanti) in Washington
Northwestern Naturalist
(1992) - Aubry, K.B., Raley, C.M., 2002. Ecological Characteristics of Fishers in the Southern Oregon Cascade Range. Final...
- et al.
Use of remote video cameras for detecting forest carnivores and in radio-telemetry studies of fishers
- et al.
The ecological role of tree-dwelling mammals in western coniferous forests
- Aubry, K.B., Wisely, S.M., Raley, C.M., Buskirk, S.W., 2003b. Zoogeography, spacing patterns, and dispersal in fishers:...
- Bailey, V., 1930a. Predatory animal control in Oregon. Record Unit 7176, United States Fish and Wildlife Service Field...
- Bailey, V., 1930b. Predatory animal control in Washington. Record Unit 7176, United States Fish and Wildlife Service...
The mammals and life zones of Oregon
North American Fauna
Petition for a rule to list the fisher as endangered
Reintroduction of fisher, pine marten, and river otter
Area of old-growth forests in California
Habitat use by fishers in adjoining heavily and lightly harvested forest
Habitat ecology of fishers and American martens
Using presence-absence data to build and test spatial habitat models for the fisher in the Klamath Region, U.S.A
Conservation Biology
Mammals of Washington
University of Kansas, Publications in Natural History
A closed season needed for fisher, marten and wolverine in California
California Fish and Game
Fisher
Conservation genetics of the fisher (Martes pennanti) based on mitochondrial DNA sequencing
Molecular Ecology
Microsatellite markers for American mink (Mustela vison) and ermine (Mustela erminea)
Molecular Ecology
Distributional dynamics of modern Martes in North America
Petition to list the fisher (Martes pennanti) as an endangered species in its west coast range
Translocation as a species conservation toolstatus and strategy
Science
Fur-bearing Mammals of California
Distribution of marten and fisher in North America
Canadian Field-Naturalist
A re-evaluation of the subspecies of fisher
Canadian Field-Naturalist
The Fragmented Forest
The fur-bearing animals of Oregon
Oregon Sportsman
Cited by (54)
Evaluating the efficacy of reintroducing fishers (Pekania pennanti) to a landscape managed for timber production
2022, Forest Ecology and ManagementForest structure predictive of fisher (Pekania pennanti)dens exists in recently burned forest in Yosemite, California, USA
2019, Forest Ecology and ManagementCitation Excerpt :The fisher is a medium-sized mustelid with a historical range throughout the mixed-coniferous forests of the Sierra Nevada, Cascade Range, the northern Rocky Mountains, the northeastern Unites States, and the boreal forests of Canada (Williams et al., 2007). Since Euro-American settlement, fisher populations in North America have declined due to human causes including trapping, logging, and habitat fragmentation (Aubry and Lewis, 2003). In California, genetic evidence indicates that fisher populations were initially fragmented by glacial activity (Tucker et al., 2012), then further suppressed in the 20th century by a combination of trapping and habitat loss (Zielinski et al., 1995).
Using environmental DNA methods to improve winter surveys for rare carnivores: DNA from snow and improved noninvasive techniques
2019, Biological ConservationCitation Excerpt :Snow-track surveys and camera traps are particularly vulnerable to misidentifications (e. g. Heinemeyer et al., 2008, see Box 3.1, Clare et al., 2017). Some species, such as fisher (Pekania pennanti) and marten (Martes caurina or M. americana), cannot be reliably separated via snow-tracks (Zielinski et al., 2006; Zielinski and Truex, 1995), leading to high levels of misidentification (Aubry et al., 2017; Aubry and Lewis, 2003; Clare et al., 2017). Other visually similar species, such the Canada lynx and bobcat (Lynx rufus), cannot always be reliably distinguished from one another in still or video images captured by cameras (Nielsen and McCollough, 2009).
Distinguishing reintroduction from recolonization with genetic testing
2017, Biological ConservationSpatial modelling of non-target exposure to anticoagulant rodenticides can inform mitigation options in two boreal predators inhabiting areas with intensive oil and gas development
2017, Biological ConservationCitation Excerpt :As a result, fisher populations have increased but never reaching previously documented levels (Gibilisco, 1994). Marten and fisher are especially sensitive to anthropogenic disturbances that cause direct mortality, or indirect effects through the loss or degradation of suitable habitat (Aubry and Lewis, 2003; Cheveau et al., 2013; Stinson and Lewis, 1998). Therefore, these species should be sensitive indicators of ecosystem function in the boreal region.
Landscape-scale habitat selection by fishers translocated to the Olympic Peninsula of Washington
2016, Forest Ecology and Management