Conservation of rare carnivores in the North Cascades Ecosystem, western North America

The North Cascades Ecosystem of Washington (USA) and British Columbia (Cana da) still supports a community of large mammalian carnivores, although some species may be seriously threatened with extirpation. This paper provides a summary of information on the numbers of grizzly bear (Ursus arctos Merri am), gray wolf (Canis lupus Hall and Kelson), Canadian lynx (Lynx canadensi s Kurten and Rausch), and wolverine (Gulo gulo Kurten and Rausch), and an o verview of current conservation efforts in the North Cascades Ecosystem. Ba sic research on population status, distribution, habitat needs, and limitin g factors is needed for many of these species, because limited field invest igations have been conducted in the region. It may be appropriate to approa ch some research tasks, such as basic surveys and evaluation of habitat con nectivity, using a multi-species approach. In addition, a multi-species app roach may be appropriate to address conservation issues such as monitoring, human access, and prey species management. By raising the awareness of man agers, scientists, and the public about these issues, we hope to recognize the opportunity to recover a full complement of native carnivores and a fun ctioning ecosystem in the North Cascades Ecosystem. This is an opportunity that is becoming extremely limited on a global scale.