2018-19
ANNUAL REPORT
A big thank you to all of our volunteers and supporters for making this year successful! It was an exciting year for those of us who love wildlife – wolves have returned to the Mt Hood National Forest and visited one of our wildlife cameras! With so many problems facing the world today, it is wonderful to see a species like this recovering and coming back. It gives us hope and motivation to continue working towards a better world. As humans, we need the natural world. It is what supplies our basic needs for food and water, as well supports us emotionally and spiritually. It teaches us curiosity, gratitude, deep listening, and connection. In short, nature teaches us to be fully human. And, in turn, the integrity of the natural world depends on us. Through teaching old skills such as animal tracking and wild plant foraging, and through providing a way for people to contribute to knowledge of our local wildlife, Cascadia Wild strives to help people make a real connection to the natural world and understand more about its complexity. It is our hope that this will enable us all to make wiser decisions about how to live our lives. We can’t forget our responsibility as stewards. I am grateful to have the opportunity again this year to work with all of you and help make Cascadia Wild’s important work happen. Thank you for your support, Teri Lysak, Board Chair
11%
11.4%
12.9% 8.4%
Expenses $33,530
7.4%
36.4% Income $37,310
13.4% 77.2% WTP Expenses Class Expenses Overhead
(rent, insurance, business expenses)
21.4%
$25,880 77.2% $3,700 11% $3,820 11.4%
Office Supplies $90 Online Payment Fees $40
0.3%
Defenders of Wildlife US Forest Service Patagonia Grant Individual Donations WTP Training Fees Class Fees Interest
$13,600 $8,000 $5,000 $2,753 $3,120 $4,830 $10
36.4% 21.4% 13.4% 7.4% 8.4% 12.9% 0%
WOLVERINE TRACKING PROJECT Thank you to all the volunteers who helped survey for wolverine and other rare carnivores on Mt Hood! 210 volunteers donated over 3670 hours collecting data on these important species, through monitoring cameras and searching for tracks and scat. It was an exciting year - wolverine still have not returned to the area, but wolves have! It is wonderful to see them return. Surveys also collected data on Sierra Nevada red fox, a rare subspecies found only on isolated mountains in the Sierra Nevadas and Oregon Cascades. Five new fox detections were recorded, tentatively showing that they might be using the more heavily populated areas of the forest on equal par with the more remote areas. Eight genetic samples were additionally collected and given to a lab to determine population numbers and ancestry. The project also collected a lot of other data on many different carnivore species to add to long term databases that will be used to detect changes over time. We are especially excited to see how the return of wolves will affect the rest of the ecosystem.
Mt Hood National Forest in their planning and land management, by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife for conserving these species, by Cascade Carnivore Project as part of a regional study on montane red fox, and by Defenders of Wildlife to advocate for better wildlife policies. As a community science project, it also serves to get people involved with our local wildlife. This year, two school groups came to help with the surveys, Saturday Academy and Cascade Education Corps. We want to give a special thanks to our 14 trip leaders who spent a minimum of two years in training to be able to lead the snow tracking surveys, and to our partners, Defenders of Wildlife and the Mt Hood
This data is used by many different organizations – by the WOLVERINE TRACKING PROJECT TEAM Leaders: Alana Rabe, Chris Abercrombie, Jenny Bedell-Stiles, JJ Bjordahl, Joel Phillipi, Kelly Hogan Kim Hack, Lori Raydo, Maggie Starr, Matt Vellella, Oriana Korol, Paul Schertz, Susan McDonnell, Trevor Murphy Interns: Stephen Ryan, Heather Munn WILDLIFE TRACKING CLASSES We believe the ancient skill of wildlife tracking is still important in today’s world, teaching us both about the animals we track and about ourselves. We are glad to help keep this skill alive. This year, in addition to the Wolverine Tracking Project surveys, we were able to offer a wide variety of classes, from introductory free events to advanced classes. FREE Tracking Events: This year our volunteers taught at BARK’s Ecology Club and Summer Base Camp, at West Linn Parks and Rec’s Full Moon over West Linn event, and helped out at the Sandy Delta Ecoblitz. Volunteers also continued to organize a monthly tracking club at Oxbow Park, and Clean Water Services sponsored a free tracking class at Fernhill Wetlands! Advanced Tracking classes: Two advanced tracking classes were offered, providing a way for people to continue growing their skills. ECOLOGY & WILDERNESS SKILLS CLASSES Classes were offered in Navigation and Forest Ecology across the Cascades. Wilderness skills classes were put on for Portland Waldorf School, St Francis Academy, and AmeriCorps. BOTANY & WILD PLANT FORAGING CLASSES Two free wild plant identification and foraging outings were held this year, on at a local Portland natural area and one day trip to the Mt Hood National Forest. Over 30 people showed up at the Portland event – showing how much of a desire there is for this information! NATURALIST TRAINING PROGRAM This year, we added an 8-month class series called the Naturalist Training Program, designed to teach about wildlife, tracking, plants, and ecology. The class filled to capacity, and we plan to continue it in upcoming years.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS 3,670 hours completed by volunteers surveying for wildlife
48 miles of scat surveys completed
380 people
engaged in and more knowledgeable about the natural world
4,695 days of camera surveys completed
55 miles
of tracking surveys completed
MEMBERS & SUPPORTERS Alicia Plate Anne Hammel Barbara Coleman Carlene Blaich Dian Connett Donna Prentice Elisabeth Abram Graham Hulbert Heidi Perry
Hobson Lane Jenny Bedell-Stiles Jim Cathcart Kanindi Devi-Dasi Kat Lefever Kate Goodnight Kelly Hogan Kimber Nelson Laura Belson
Lisa Billings Lynn Fox and Eric Faucher Maggie Starr Mark Gundry Mary Anne Erickson Mary Brogdon Matt Vellella Mike Little Nathan Stickney
Nora Zimmerly Sophie Bertrand Susan Hawes Susan McDonnell Businesses: Patagonia New Seasons Very True Story
BOARD MEMBERS
Teri Lysak – Chair, Paul Schertz – Secretary, Omid Ashtari – Treasurer Jenny Bedell-Stiles, Maggie Starr, Mike Little, Katie Morrice
cascadiawild.org | 503-235-9533 | 5431 NE 20th Ave, Portland, OR 97211