Sierra Nevada Pacific Fisher Threatened by Wildfire

[ERIC]

Wildfire In The Sierra Nevada Is Threatening The Existence Of This Cat-like Mammal

By EZRA DAVID ROMERO • APR 6, 2016
http://kvpr.org/post/wildfire-sierra-ne ... cat-mammal



There’s a furry little animal that lives in the mountains along the West Coast that soon could get an added step of protection by being listed as threatened both in California and nationally. And as FM89’s Ezra David Romero reports they face a number of threats including wildfire.

Christa Hollon and her class of kindergartners from Horace Mann Elementary School in Bakersfield are on a tour of a zoo called the California Living Museum full of animals native to the Golden State.

They just saw coyotes, a pair of bald eagles and a black bear. Now they’re looking at a mammal that looks like a chubby weasel.

“He’s called a?” Hollon says.“ Taz, Taz, Taz that’s his name.”

Taz and his girlfriend Lola are Pacific fishers.

“So they’re in the same family that you would find the wolverines, pine martins, things like skunks,” says Don Richardson who curates the animals at the zoo in Kern County.

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[rlown]

#mustelidslivesmatter. I couldn't resist. Grouse are at risk now as well. We need good snow, storms and regrowth of some of the areas.

I like protecting species. Wildfires are a different matter. Generally, it's a rebirth after the fire. It depends on the species.

[dave54]

Yep. Fishers need heavy tree cover. Wildfires destroy fisher habitat. Listing them could require agencies to get more aggressive in controlling wildfire in fisher habitat area. The exact opposite of current trends in fire management.

Another example of the problems with blind application of the ESA. You frequently end up with two different listed species with legally mandated habitat protection measures in the same area, yet have mutually exclusive habitat needs.

[ERIC]

Pacific fisher denied protection under the Endangered Species Act

http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencen ... story.html



Federal wildlife authorities on Thursday denied Endangered Species Act protection to the small, isolated populations of Pacific fishers in Washington, Oregon and California, including the southern Sierra Nevada range.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2014 proposed listing the largest member of the weasel family as threatened throughout the region because of threats including logging, wildfires and the use of pesticides by marijuana growers.

On Thursday, however, agency said those threats were found to be not as significant as previously thought. In addition, Robyn Thorson, director of the agency’s Pacific region, said that “voluntary conservation measures” by the timber industry could increase habitat for the carnivore.

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Also Thursday, Weyerhaeuser Co., one of the world's largest private owners of timberlands, announced plans to commit up to 3 million acres of forested holdings in Washington and Oregon to support efforts to reintroduce fishers throughout the western U.S.

Environmental groups led by the Center for Biological Diversity said the agency's decision not to list the Pacific fisher was "politically driven" and not based on the best available science.

“The politically driven reversal of proposed protection for the fisher is the latest example of the Fish and Wildlife Service kowtowing to the wishes of industry,” said Tanya Sanerib, an attorney at the center. “Fishers may be tough enough to prey on porcupines, but they need Endangered Species Act protection to survive.”

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