In April 2021, trail cams caught footage of the first wild fishers to be born in the North Cascades in approximately fifty years. It’s another positive milestone in Washington State’s restoration efforts.
Due to habitat loss and over-hunting, fishers had been extirpated from much of the range, including WA, by the mid-1900s. They were listed by the state as an endangered species in 1998 and, according to WDFW press release, “More than 250 fishers have been reintroduced to Washington since releases first began in and around Olympic National Park in 2008.” Ongoing conservation work to protect old-growth forests and other animals that share the fisher’s historic range has helped ensure that plenty of suitable habitat remains for the fisher to thrive in Washington once again.

Read more:
First Wild Fishers Born in the North Cascades as Part of State-wide Restoration Project | WDFW
Fisher Rewilding: How Washington State Is Restoring a Native Carnivore | The Revelator

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