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.

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.

Mount Rainier by Gretchen Kay Stuart — 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.