CURRENT DISTRIBUTION OF THE FISHER, MARTES PENNANTI, IN CALIFORNIA

We describe the 1989-1994 distribution of the fisher, Martes pennanti, in California based on the results of detection surveys that used eit her sooted track-plates or cameras. Fishers were detected in two regio ns of the state: the northwest and the southern Sierra Nevada. Despite considerable survey effort, neither fisher tracks nor photographs wer e collected in the area between Mt. Shasta and Yosemite National Park. This represents a significant breach in the distribution formerly int erpreted as continuous. Detection survey results suggest that the popu lation in the southern Sierra Nevada may be isolated from populations to the north. We recommend that additional survey effort be focused on the southern Cascades and northern Sierra Nevada and that forests of the Sierra Nevada be managed to encourage the movement of fishers betw een these areas. We also recommend that descriptions of the current di stributions of uncommon carnivores be based on techniques that produce verifiable records rather than summaries of incidental sightings.