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Working specifically in the south-west portion of the Crown, Luke and his fellow researchers have spent the past 10 years collecting lynx and wolverine data across the roughly 600,000ha they survey. The data has given researchers a better idea of how many individuals are in the region, whether they\u2019re male or female, their movement patterns and even family genetics. This wealth of information can then be used to determine trends and activity hotspots, and in turn guide conservation efforts and forest management plans.\u00a0<\/p>
Luke and his fellow researchers have spent the past 10 years collecting lynx and wolverine data<\/p><\/blockquote>
Before this monitoring began in 2012, little was known about the lynx and wolverines of the Southwestern Crown. \u201cYou can\u2019t conserve a species if you don\u2019t know anything about it,\u201d Luke says. \u201cWe have learned an awful lot about lynx and wolverine in this landscape and how things have changed in just the past 10 years.\u201d<\/p>
That knowledge doesn\u2019t come easy though.\u00a0\u201cSometimes we\u2019re working on beautiful sunny days, and sometimes it\u2019s in blizzard conditions or sideways, cold rain,\u201d Luke says. \u201cWe\u2019re out there in pretty much any weather condition. The only time we don\u2019t go out is when the high for the day is below -17\u02daC. A lot of preparation goes into safety. There are always those winter risks where something could go wrong and you could have snowmobiles that break down in the field, and then you end up spending the night in the middle of nowhere. We have to be ready for that.\u201d<\/p>
The Canada lynx ranges from Alaska through Canada and into northern US states. Credit. Rob G Green<\/figcaption><\/figure> Why one would even think to conduct research in such challenging conditions comes down to two main reasons: wildlife is easier to track across snow; and bears are hibernating. Even though lynx and wolverines exist in the Southwestern Crown year-round, researchers would rather not contend with hungry grizzlies tearing apart bait stations in the middle of summer. As such, biologists ride snowmobiles high up into the mountains during some of western Montana\u2019s coldest months, cut tracks through the deep snow until they\u2019ve found an active wildlife route, and get to work.\u00a0<\/p>
![\"Wildlife](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2024\/01\/Wildlife-coordinator-Eric-Graham.jpg\")
Wildlife coordinator Eric Graham attaches meat and \u2018hair snares\u2019 to a tree. Credit. Rob G Green<\/figcaption><\/figure> Luke drops the hammer on the packed snow and sheds his jacket before wrapping wire around the skinned deer leg, sourced from roadkill, to make it even harder for the carnivores to pull it down. Below it, he tacks a dozen metal brushes to the trunk. The idea is relatively simple: use the bait to lure the species up the tree for a quick meal, then collect the hair samples that get snagged on the brushes in the process. The harder it is to free the bait from the tree, the more times the animals try, and the more DNA samples they leave behind.\u00a0<\/p>
\u201cYou could have snowmobiles that break down and you end up spending the night in the middle of nowhere\u201d Luke Lamar, conservation director at swan valley connections\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>
What makes this approach unique is that it\u2019s non-invasive, meaning it doesn\u2019t require researchers to capture, sedate, handle, collar and release an animal back into its habitat in order to harvest useful data. It\u2019s also a more effective way of collecting data, but even so, last year researchers set up 239 bait stations, spent a total of 275 days in the field and logged over 7,000km in track surveys, yet were only able to collect genetic material on 13 wolverines and 35 lynx in the entire Southwestern Crown.\u00a0It shows just how rare these two species are.<\/p>
![\"Wolverine\"](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2024\/01\/Wolverine.jpg\")
Not a bear: the wolverine is the largest member of the weasel family. Credit. Rob G Green<\/figcaption><\/figure> To even attempt to scan this large an area for such reclusive wildlife takes more than just grit and endurance in harsh conditions, it takes cooperation. In the mountainous and often heavily forested terrain, partnerships are critical to ensuring the work is done thoroughly and on time. While SVC has spearheaded much of the study, it\u2019s been supported by dozens of field technicians and funding from organizations and agencies including the US Forest Service, the Nature Conservancy, the Bureau of Land Management and the University of Montana.<\/p>
\u201cNone of this would have happened without our partners,\u201d Luke says. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t have pulled this off by ourselves. It took a group of people, and they realise that just looking at their individual lands for lynx and wolverine is only part of the story. They also see how habitat connects across the landscape. We\u2019re now having much larger conversations about land management.\u201d<\/p>
![\"Lynx\"](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2024\/01\/Lynx-1.jpg\")
Snowshoe hair is the lynx\u2019s preferred prey, but they will take squirrel, rodent and grouse. Credit. Rob G Green<\/figcaption><\/figure> Eric Graham is one such partner. With more than 20 years of field experience, his ability to track wildlife in the Southwestern Crown is unparalleled. Working as wildlife coordinator for another local conservation group called the Blackfoot Challenge, he assists SVC by setting bait stations and collecting genetic material. He has been involved with the project from its inception, and his respect for the work is matched only by his respect for the wildlife he chases, whose territories can be huge \u2013 a single wolverine\u2019s home-range can span as much as 1,500km\u00b2.\u00a0<\/p>
\u201cWhen you\u2019re out there, you\u2019re following in the footsteps of those animals and seeing exactly how they move through the country,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen you\u2019re backtracking \u2013 following an animal\u2019s tracks backwards to see where they\u2019ve been and what they\u2019ve done \u2013 you might find remains of snowshoe hare prey and see where they went on a hunt, or where they bedded down for a while. I\u2019ve been blown away by the way they move up and down steep ridges. It\u2019s like they\u2019re climbing the tallest peaks just for the fun of it.\u201d<\/p>
Translating that respect into policy-guiding data takes help from the National Genomics Center for Wildlife and Fish Conservation in Missoula<\/a>, Montana. As a founding researcher at the facility, laboratory supervisor Kristi Pilgrim has been working since 1999 to develop the non-invasive model for harvesting wildlife DNA. Her team\u2019s analysis of bait-station samples provides a better idea of what\u2019s happening \u2013 and changing \u2013 on the landscape.<\/p>
![\"Lab](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2024\/01\/Lab-supervisor-Kristi-Pilgrim-and-technician-Bryce-Tipton.jpg\")
Lab supervisor Kristi Pilgrim and technician Bryce Tipton. Credit. Rob G Green<\/figcaption><\/figure> \u201cOne thing that is really important about our work is that it\u2019s not just a standalone product,\u201d she says. \u201cThe information we get from DNA tells us one piece of the picture, and then we can overlay that with other movement data on lynx or wolverine over time. I like that our research is best when it is complemented by the help of others as well as from other data streams \u2013 that\u2019s when you can get a fuller picture of the species or the ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>
What might be even more useful than what the research says about lynx and wolverines now is what it might reveal about their future. While reintroduction efforts have occurred in places such as Colorado, the Southwestern Crown is one of the southernmost naturally occurring ranges for lynx and wolverines. As both species rely on a healthy snowpack for both hunting and den sites, climate change could threaten their long-term survival. Now equipped with a decade of research data, SVC and its partners can use the information as a baseline to monitor changes that could impact wildlife down the road.<\/p>
\u201cIt\u2019s important to monitor that southern edge of their distribution, because that\u2019s where you\u2019d expect climate change impacts to show up first,\u201d Luke says. \u201cThese animals are the canary in the coal mine.\u201d<\/p>
Take lynx, for example, which have evolved to hunt in the snow. Their wide paws, long legs and near-silent movement through terrain make them remarkable predators. Their preferred meal is the snowshoe hare, which can make up a whopping 95 per cent of their diet. When hare populations are healthy, lynx thrive. When there are too many lynx, hares are over-hunted, resulting in a decline in lynx populations until hare numbers rebound. In most cases this cycle is natural, but what is not yet known is just how deeply climate change will impact this relationship.\u00a0<\/p>
Wide paws, long legs and near-silent movement through terrain make lynx remarkable predators<\/p><\/blockquote>
Even though snowshoe hares change coats between white and brown depending on the season, it can take up to 10 weeks to change colour completely. If winters are shortened or snowpack is reduced, their white coat against the brown dirt makes them more vulnerable prey not only for lynx, but also for predators less suited to hunt in snow. Their population could plummet at unnatural rates, which means lynx numbers could soon follow suit. With Canada lynx already listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act and a decision on whether or not to list wolverines expected in the coming months, work such as the Rare Carnivore Monitoring Project is critical in informing decisions on protecting wildlife.<\/p>
But just because these ecosystems may be sensitive to climate change doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re destined to fail. Lynx and wolverine are learning to adapt and although the Southwestern Crown also hosts human activities such as ranching, logging and timber-thinning initiatives that reduce forest fire risks, there are efforts to create landscapes where they and humans can successfully coexist. The study\u2019s results give forest managers the most accurate data about where animals are and, importantly, where they are not.\u00a0<\/p>
\u201cWe get a lot of lynx and wolverine detection on what we call the \u2018working landscape,\u2019 where there\u2019s logging, recreation and other things,\u201d Luke says. \u201cYou can have landscapes with both logging and lynx, you just have to be thoughtful about it. We are proud to have some of the rarest species on Earth where we live and work, but it doesn\u2019t have to be an either\/or situation to protect them. You can have good land conservation and land management activities and still have these species. That\u2019s one of the reasons why this work matters.\u201d<\/p>
As both species rely on healthy snowpack, climate could threaten their long-term survival<\/p><\/blockquote>
If you look hard enough from this high up in the Mission Mountains, you can almost see Highway 83 through the snow that\u2019s started to fall, cars filled with people eager to explore and settle in the valley below. Luke understands that newcomers will keep finding their way here to discover their own slice of paradise, and with them will come development that threatens to tilt the balance he and his partners are trying hard to maintain. As if realising he\u2019s working against the clock, he snaps up his jacket, starts his snowmobile and takes off down the trail. He throttles toward the next bait station, looking to uncover mysteries in a place still wild enough to hold them.\u00a0<\/p>
ABOUT THE AUTHOR<\/strong><\/p>
Rob G Green is a documentary photographer and videographer based in Montana in the USA. He is a National Geographic Explorer and Emerging League Member of the International League of Conservation Photographers, and focuses on the connection and conflict between people and place.<\/em><\/p>
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