Washington DFW, Partners Reintroduce Fishers Into South Cascades

By Vanessa Torres

Washington -(Ammoland.com)- Biologists today released seven fishers into Washington’s south Cascades mountains, where the reclusive, cat-sized mammal hasn’t been seen for more than 70 years.

The fisher is one of the larger members of the weasel family, which includes otters, badgers and wolverines. Fishers were eliminated from Washington by the mid-1900s through over-trapping and have been listed as a state-endangered species since 1998.

Today’s reintroduction was made possible through collaboration between the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), the National Park Service (NPS), Conservation Northwest and myriad other partners. These organizations previously worked together from 2008 to 2010 to release 90 fishers in Olympic National Park, where the species is now widely distributed and successfully reproducing.

“We’re excited to begin releasing fishers to another area of Washington where they lived historically,” said Penny Becker, wildlife diversity division manager for WDFW. “With abundant habitat, we think they’ll do well here.”

The fishers released today were captured in central British Columbia, similar to those released in Olympic National Park. Each of the three males and four …Read the Rest

Source:: AmmoLand