Candid cameras capture wild creatures for a cause

More than 30 volunteers from northeastern Washington have joined a project to spy on the region’s shyest wildlife.

The helpers already been trained on installing special cameras with motion-activated sensors that trigger the shutter when a critter moves through the viewfinder.

“The idea is to help document the presence of rare carnivores, such as grizzly bears, lynx and wolverines,” said Derrick Knowles, Spokane representative for the Northwest Ecosystem Alliance. “It’s a way we can help the state and federal wildlife agencies with monitoring and management.”

The privately funded program started five years ago in the North Cascades and was extended to northeastern Washington last year.

“We had about 40 volunteers in five teams last year; they took turns going out every couple of weeks, using GPS to find their way and bring back film from the cameras we put out in off-trail areas coordinated with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Forest Service,” he said.

“We put a lure up a tree 15 feet away and the camera takes a picture of anything that comes to the lure.

“Last year we got a lot of pictures of bears that could be grizzlies, but none that we could confirm as grizzlies. We also got back pictures of lots of deer, moose, elk and a million snowshoe hares. No cougars, but one bobcat.”

The volunteers are trained to use gloves to prevent the scent of the lure from being applied to the camera. “Apparently people forgot about that a few times last year,” Knowles said. “We have some pictures of bears looking right at the camera right before they chewed it up.”

And so far, he said, they don’t have any photos of Sasquatch.

Info: Northwest Ecosystem Alliance, 747-1663.