2025 Northern Blue Mountains Wildlife Monitoring Update

As part of the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program, the Forest Service and its partners are using silviculture and prescribed fire to restore historical forest structure and composition in the northern Blue Mountains of Oregon and Washington within the Wallowa-Whitman and Umatilla National Forests. To monitor restoration effects, this project combines noninvasive methods (trail cameras and audio recording units) with traditional wildlife sampling techniques (nest checks and telemetry) to measure wildlife responses to forest restoration treatments. These data provide landscape-scale information on species occurrence and habitat use, helping managers evaluate forest restoration outcomes and refine future treatments. This monitoring framework facilitates science-based strategies for improving forest health, reducing wildfire risk, and conserving biodiversity in fire-adapted ecosystems.

Here we provide a brief update on project accomplishments in 2025 and outline some of our current activities. 

For more information on this collaborative project, please refer to the project website.