Non-profits Think Wild and Cascadia Wild announced a partnership to gather data and work toward the conservation of rare carnivores in Central Oregon.
The data gathered from the program will allow for improving and understanding species distribution, habitat use, how wildlife habitats border and connect to one another and wildlife community dynamics. The program will help promote the conservation of rare carnivores that play a critical role in Oregon wildlife food chains.
“Central Oregon is an incredible place to do this work, with such diverse habitats and a strong outdoors-oriented community that cares deeply about wildlife,” Kylie Lanuza, wildlife community science project coordinator at Think Wild, stated in a recent press release.
The program will target the marten, gray wolf, wolverines and Sierra Nevada red foxes, though Lanuza told the Source that any carnivore or animal appearing on the list of Species of Greatest Conservation Need, an outline of “at-risk” species with small or declining numbers, will draw interest in this program.
The monitoring of these species will be done primarily through scat collection, camera monitoring and looking for other signs of life like paw prints and scratches on trees.
These carnivores are considered rare due to the lack of data on them and their “at-risk” standing with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Lanuza says the closest rare and sensitive species to Bend include the gray wolf and the Sierra Nevada red fox. Populations of gray wolves have been known to reside in areas like Sunriver, while the red fox has been known to populate around the Cascade Highway and Mt. Bachelor.
Conservationists say wolves are especially at risk, following the federal government’s decision to keep them off the endangered species list in 2024. In 2025, the judge in that case vacated and ordered the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reassess its previous determination, which left an open avenue to have the wolf added back to the list. Before that 2024 ruling, wolves on the west side of Highways 395-78-95, which includes most of Central Oregon, were considered endangered.
Lanuza added that the reduction in snowpack in recent years puts the red fox more at risk as they rely on snow for tracking and hunting small prey beneath its surface.
A wolf monitoring pilot saw an overwhelming response from people interested in volunteering, the press release detailed. Lanuza says around 40 or 50 people volunteered.
Lanuza told the Source that she hopes to see more people showing interest this season from May to October. That season marks the end of the community science collection program which has been instrumental in providing data on the already elusive difficult-to-track Sierra Nevada red fox.
“Collecting data and spending time outside meaningfully is really important for not only the data that we’re collecting and the science that we’re contributing to but for an individual’s purpose,” Lanuza told the Source. “For me this project is as much about collecting data as it is about creating a great community of people who love to track and love to be together and connect with nature in a different way.”
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