Oregon Field Guide

Fishers, Reptile Hunter, Terns & Cormorants

The fisher, a member of the weasel family, once thrived in the Pacific Northwest. But now it’s rare to see one. We take a look at what is happening to the population. There may be fewer than 50 fishers in the cascade range. Fishers are elusive, scientist have set up 16 monitoring stations to try to film the secretive mammal. They also try to capture fisher hair by using sticky tape. Hair samples are then sent to labs for DNA analysis. We follow 'reptile hunters' Chris Rombough and Sarah Petrakis into the wilds of the Willamette Valley and the Columbia Gorge to see just how many snakes and other reptiles we can find. Their finds include a garter snake, gopher snake, racer, ringneck snake, western rattlesnake, and an alligator lizard. You may be surprised to see what's hiding right along the trail. A grand experiment ten years ago attempted to save endangered salmon from feasting Caspian terns. We return to East Sand Island near the mouth of the Columbia River and find it seems to have worked. Except now there’s a new danger from an even larger group of double-crested cormorants who have moved in.