Fisher Reintroduction Plan and Environmental Assessment

The Fisher Reintroduction Plan Environmental Assessment (EA) is now available for public review and comment. The EA was jointly prepared by Olympic National Park and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, in collaboration with the Olympic National Forest.

Fishers are native to the forested areas of Washington, including the Olympic Peninsula, but are believed to have vanished from the state because of overtrapping in the late 1800s and early 1900s and the loss of older forest habitats. Fishers weigh about as much as a house cat (between 4.5 and 12 pounds), and have a dense coat of dark brown fur. They are forest-dwelling members of the weasel family, which also includes mink, otter and marten.

Restoring fishers to the forests of Olympic National Park would help reestablish a native species and a natural balance between predators and prey. One of the primary goals of national parks is to allow natural processes to continue as nature intended. Restoring fishers would be a step towards that goal.

A 30-day public comment period has just begun for the Fisher Reintroduction Plan EA and will continue until October 10.

Document Content:

Fisher Reintroduction Plan and Environmental Assessment   (4.9 MB, PDF file) Disclaimer: Links within the above document(s) were valid as of the date published. Note: Some of the files may be in PDF format and can be viewed using the Adobe Acrobat Reader software. You may download a free copy of from Adobe Systems.