Pacific Fisher Reintroduction

NPS says the fisher (Pekania pennanti) is a member of the weasel family, about the size of a large house cat, and is native to Washington, including the Olympic Peninsula. Over-trapping led to their disappearance from the state by the early 20th century. They prey on snowshoe hares, mountain beavers, rabbits, rodents, and birds, and are among the few animals that prey on porcupines. They do not fish; early settlers compared them to the European polecat, the French fichet.

On January 27, 2008, twelve fishers from British Columbia were released into remote sites in Olympic National Park. Over the next three years an additional 78 were introduced — 90 in all, live-trapped in British Columbia and driven to Port Angeles. NPS says they have since dispersed widely on the Peninsula and established home ranges in both managed and wilderness forests.

By the end of 2011 only two radio-collared fishers were still known to be alive. Camera and hair-snare studies from 2013 to 2016 found ten of the founding fishers still alive, plus several generations of offspring. A later NPS release says partners released additional Alberta fishers, including five near Lake Ozette, to boost numbers and genetic diversity after more than 250 fishers had been released across the Olympics and Cascades. The sources below are National Park Service pages.