Status of fisher in the northern Idaho panhandle and adjacent mountain ranges

The Multi-species Baseline Initiative (MBI) is a collaborative of organizations which is conducting a comprehensive inventory for fisher (Martes pennanti) and other wildlife species across the Idaho Panhandle and adjacent mountain ranges. From 2010-2012, MBI partners established 112 forest carnivore bait stations to collect photographs and DNA from 22 wildlife species including fisher in the Purcell, Selkirk, and West Cabinet Mountains. We detected fisher at one bait station in the Selkirks and 32 bait stations in the West Cabinets. We did not detect fisher in the Purcells. We used molecular techniques to genotype individual fisher from the Selkirks (n = 1) and West Cabinets (n = 28). During the winters of 2013-15 we plan to establish an additional 364 bait stations across the Idaho Panhandle and northeastern Washington.