THE COYOTE CHALLENGE

Words by Gretchen Kay Stuart

Coyotes and red foxes do not typically get along. Research in Yellowstone National Park showed that these two canid species can coexist, but coyotes sometimes kill foxes. This suggests the potential for coyotes to be a significant source of mortality for the endangered Cascade red fox here in our study area. Coyotes likely kill foxes not primarily for consumption, but to reduce competition for shared resources such as food and space (i.e. a home range).

How has the Cascade red fox managed to persist when coyotes are increasingly found in their home ranges? The answer may lie in the snowpack.

One reason the Cascade red fox chooses to inhabit high elevations of subalpine parkland is likely to avoid predators that cannot navigate deep snow. The Cascade red fox’s small body mass and dense fur between toe pads allows them to move effortlessly across the snow’s surface. Coyotes lack these adaptations. They sink deeper into the snow, making it exhausting and inefficient to hunt. Imagine wading through waist-high powder versus wearing snowshoes.

Reduced competition for snowshoe hares and other prey, combined with a safe place to den and raise kits, were likely the conditions that allowed the Cascade red fox to persist in their harsh winter range for hundreds of thousands of years. But with the climate warming, the snowpack diminishing, and increased winter recreation creating hard-packed trails, coyotes now appear to be accessing Cascade red fox habitat year-round, sparking concern for this endangered fox’s survival.

This year, the Cascade Mountains experienced record lows in snowpack, and our monitoring stations showed that coyotes frequented high elevations throughout the entire winter.

January 13, 2025 (left) shows typical snowpack in high elevations of the Washington Cascades. Exactly one year later in 2026 (right), snowpack is alarmingly low.

On 1/19, a Cascade red fox passes by our monitoring station. Two days later, a coyote appears to follow the fox's scent into the trees.

On 3/23, at a separate monitoring station on a different mountain range, another example of a coyote appearing hours behind a Cascade red fox is recorded.

This evidence raises concerns. Is climate change removing the shield that allows an endangered fox to coexist with a dominant competitor? What can we do to help the Cascade red fox recover?

Several courses of action can be taken. At the policy level, voters can support local candidates committed to climate action, endangered species protection and research funding. Although individuals cannot directly influence snowpack conditions, other meaningful conservation measures include advocating for rodenticide bans and removals, and educating communities about the risks of feeding foxes which leads to roadside begging and car strikes.

This rare, resilient fox can still have a path forward. Let’s make sure they call these mountains home for generations to come.

THE SNOWPACK AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR WOLVERINES

Words and Photos by Gretchen Kay Stuart

As the changing climate continues to warm our planet, those affected will reach far beyond disappointed skiers in Washington’s Cascades this winter. According to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington’s snowpack currently holds just 52% of its normal water volume, with little relief on the horizon.

We often discuss snow in terms of what it means for us: reservoirs, irrigation, and the increased wildfire risk that comes along with drought. For wolverines, this shift poses challenges as well. Deep snowpack is important for reproduction and kit survival.

Wolverine habitat in our study area has only received 34% of its annual snowpack as of February 5, 2026.

Around this time of year, wolverines give birth in dens carved not into soil, but into deep snow that persists until late spring when their kits are strong enough to start traveling with their mothers. These are not simple holes. They are intricate chambers dug into drifts that provide stable insulation against surface temperatures. The subnivean (under-snow) environment maintains a constant temperature near freezing, regardless of whether the air above is 0°F or 40°F. For wolverine kits, that stability is the difference between life and death.

Warm conditions in the Cascades create rain-on-snow events. When warm rain trickles through the snowpack, it adds weight and destroys the insulating properties of deep, fluffy snow. Wet snow can also collapse the subnivean world entirely, which wolverines and other carnivores rely upon for some of their prey.

Wolverine mothers also must plan ahead and find food for themselves and their kits when they are young and unable to leave the den. They sustain themselves in part on caches of meat stored in the snow, for example, in tree wells, which act as refrigerators to preserve their food for longer periods of time. They will stock these refrigerators in early winter before kits are born. If the refrigerator fails, the meat can thaw and rot, forcing wolverine mothers to find food elsewhere.

Wolverine habitat in the Washington Cascades alpine.

Despite these challenges, there is hope. The female wolverine in our study area has consistently reproduced with success. At least one of those offspring dispersed to Oregon and perhaps traveled further to the Sierra Nevadas where a wolverine was recently detected.

What can we do? There are many small changes to diet and lifestyle that can add up to great impact. But most importantly, we can vote in local elections. Ask that our state representatives prioritize climate change and protection of our public lands and the Endangered Species Act. Educate friends and family about the importance of biodiversity, and encourage them to vote, too. With effort and time, we just might succeed in turning things around not only for the wolverine, but for all life on earth.

GRETCHEN'S DEN DISCOVERIES (Post #3)

Words and Photos by Gretchen Kay Stuart

Let’s hear it for the Meadow Rovers!

Last year, I had special access to conduct daily observations of endangered Cascade red fox kit rearing at the first successful den site found within Mount Rainier's park boundaries since 2017.

Gretchen observes endangered Cascade red fox kits from a blind, recording detailed field notes.

Following the identification of the den site, the park’s Resource Manager, Sallie Beavers, and Superintendent, Greg Dudgeon, swiftly implemented trail closures to mitigate risks of human habituation and food-conditioning. Violators risked up to 6 months jail time and a $5,000 fine.

This management action was reinforced by Ranger David Divelbiss and his phenomenal team of volunteer Meadow Rovers who stood guard day and night at every closed trailhead to ensure the orders were respected.

One of the greatest threats faced by the Cascade red fox is car strike fatalities due to food-conditioning. Foxes that are fed even once by visitors start viewing humans as easy meal tickets. Eventually, they are lured to roads where encounters are more frequent, and the foxes are often struck and killed.

I believe it is because of the incredible effort by NPS staff and volunteers that all three kits survived and matured into thriving juveniles. By winter, they dispersed into the Cascades wilderness to establish territories and find mates, pushing their unique subspecies a meaningful step back from the brink of extinction.

This success stands in stark contrast to the tragic loss of a separate litter to rodenticide poisoning at a nearby ski resort. It underscores just how vital our National Parks are for the survival of endangered species, and reaffirms the importance of keeping our public lands funded and protected.

A heartfelt thank you to the dedicated NPS staff and Meadow Rovers who made this conservation achievement possible!

HOW DOES DNA HELP WITH CARNIVORE CONSERVATION? (Part 2)

Words by Jocelyn Akins

Previously we described how mitochondrial DNA collected from carnivore scats can be used in conservation. Here, we explain how nuclear DNA, which we use to identify individual wolverines, Cascade red foxes, and Canada lynx, allows us to understand how carnivore populations are faring. Nuclear DNA comes from the nucleus in the animal’s cells and each cell has one copy. For this reason, it is much harder to successfully extract from a cell unlike mitochondrial DNA, which has many copies (housed within the many mitochrondria found in each cell).

The genotyping of nuclear DNA at genetics laboratories in Montana and California allows us to produce a genetic signature for each unique carnivore. This signature is called a genotype, and when we analayze the genotypes of many individuals together, we can see how genes move across the landscapes - that is, how individuals move and reproduce across the Cascade Range. We can create a landscape genetic resistance map to understand which landscape features, such as a large river or a low-elevation valley with a large highway, restrict animal movements, and thus restrict gene flow, thereby acting as a barrier or at least a challenge preventing carnivores from finding new mates. This type of analysis is critical to identify where to put a wildlife crossing, reduce highway speeds, or restore the forest in the area.

Photo credit: Duncan Mullen

Nuclear DNA is also used to determine if a population is so small that individuals are beginning to breed with close relatives, which can negatively impact the health of individuals, and thus the chances that a population will persist over time. When populations are inbred, we start looking for ways to restore connections points across the landscape, such as safe passage ways over highways to facilitate animal movement, reconnect populations, and increase genetic diversity. We may also ask whether we should introduce individuals from elsewhere and "genetically rescue” a small, inbred population. While this is no small feat, it has been successful elsewhere including with Florida panthers!