Wildlife

Wildlife Indicator - Highlights by andrew joel — last modified 06/12/2007 at 12:23 AM

The latest addition to the Cascadia Scorecard--Sightline's wildlife index--tracks population counts of five key indicator species: gray wolves, mountain caribou, greater sage-grouse, orcas, and Chinook salmon.

Wildlife Indicator - Caribou by andrew joel — last modified 06/29/2006 at 05:13 PM

Caribou are highly endangered in the lower 48 United States and British Columbia. The remaining population in the Northwest consists of the tiny Selkirk herd, which occupies a small area of northeast Washington, northern Idaho, and an adjacent portion of BC.

Wildlife Indicator - Greater Sage-Grouse by andrew joel — last modified 06/29/2006 at 05:18 PM

The greater sage-grouse, a popular gamebird in eastern Oregon and Washington, is an excellent indicator of the health of the sagelands country in the inland Northwest, an ecosystem rich in native biological integrity.

Wildlife Indicator - Orcas by andrew joel — last modified 06/29/2006 at 05:10 PM

Sightline's wildlife index tracks the southern resident orcas that inhabit the inland seas of Washington and British Columbia.

Wildlife Indicator - Chinook Salmon by andrew joel — last modified 06/23/2006 at 01:17 PM

No creature, beside humans, penetrates the Pacific Northwest as thoroughly as salmon. The wildlife index tracks Chinook salmon returning as adults to the Bonneville Dam, the lowest dam on the Columbia River.

Wildlife Indicator - Gray Wolves by andrew joel — last modified 06/29/2006 at 05:20 PM

The west was wolfless until the mid-1990s, when small populations were re-introduced.