Over the course of three summers, wildlife managers conducted a project in Washington’s Olympic National Park to relocate mountain goats to the state’s Cascade Mountains in order to increase goat populations in areas where they were once abundant.
A total of 325 goats were released into the Cascade Mountains between 2018 and 2020, but unfortunately, most of the tracked goats have since died.
Rich Harris, a retired state wildlife biologist who led the relocation project, expressed disappointment at the lower-than-expected survival rate of the transplanted goats.
A study published in September revealed that transplanted goats had only a 56% chance of surviving each year, with 165 out of 217 transplanted goats dying by the end of 2022.
Wildlife biologists, working with tribal nations, have struggled to find live mountain goats in the herd they were tracking, highlighting the challenges faced in the project.
The goal of the relocation project was to restore mountain goat populations in the Cascade Mountains while eliminating them from the Olympic Mountains, where they were not native and were causing damage to the unique plant species in the area.
Despite efforts to boost mountain goat populations, the impact of climate change on the rugged alpine landscapes of the West has resulted in challenges to wildlife conservation efforts.
Experts believe that climate change and extreme weather events have contributed to the challenges faced by relocated mountain goats and native populations alike, with a decline in survival rates observed among both groups.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has estimated a decrease in the state’s mountain goat population from 1,537 in 2015 to 917 in 2022, underscoring the need for further research and conservation efforts to ensure the survival of these iconic species.
Source: www.nbcnews.com
