highlandscurrent.org The Highlands Current APRIL 19, 2019 11 The Calendar

A fisher photographed using a camera trap Photo courtesy Scott LaPoint A bear captured on a camera trap as it rubs against a tree. Photo courtesy Jim Conlon

search consortium in Cornwall, said his research combines data collection with Behind the Scenes … in the Forest spatial and statistical analyses to get an idea of how landscape facilitates the movement of animals. They could also observe inter-species He said he has focused on fishers, a Scientists share technology helping them understand wildlife interaction, for instance between bobcats carnivorous that is similar to, and bears, and “we got a lot of bear selfies,” but larger than, a weasel. “Fishers need By Alison Rooney to happen,” he recalled. “First came the McGowan said with a laugh. forests,” he said. “They do an awful lot in crows and ravens, during the day,” along “Without this valuable footage,” he ex- trees. So the question is, ‘Are forests doing o study animals in the wild, re- with “black wolves” (). “At night plained, “you’d never know there was a what we want them to?’ ” T searchers have recently embraced Eastern coyotes circled the carcass, whole community of animals interacting. The fisher was once found solely in the two new tools: radio telemetry and joined by bobcat, red fox, some intrepid We thought there were about 50 bears [in Adirondacks, and it was nearly wiped out DNA tests. They join sensor-triggered “cam- , possum, mice, owls and golden Harriman] but learned there are more like during the fur trade, but is now doing well, era traps,” which have been around longer eagles, which have 7-foot wingspans and 100. We’re not at capacity, but we’re get- he said. “Somehow populations are connect- but are still highly useful. massive talons. ting there. We had about 20 cubs last year. ing through forests, which are supporting On Sunday (April 14), three local scien- “We saw some strange bedfellows, like Just 20 years ago we had young males but these once-rare animals,” he said. He hopes tists spoke at a community forum, “Wild- possums hanging around bobcats with im- no females or cubs.” to document their distribution in the state life Through the Hidden Lens: The Secret punity — maybe they don’t taste very good!” McGowan said the cameras had not through camera traps and other tools. Lives of the Creatures Among Us,” organized he said. “We saw deer investigating the car- caught any mountain lions. “There are lots Next up was Brent Boscarino, a former by the Land Trust. The cass; maybe there were doing some forensic of sightings, but only one was legitimate, high school science teacher now with the event, held at the Old VFW Hall in Cold information gathering, but they didn’t eat it.” and that was of a mountain lion killed on -New Jersey Conference, who Spring, was sold out. Another project involved four years of the road in Connecticut,” he said. “He had shared sites such as ebird.org and inatural- Ed McGowan, a Garrison resident who study of black bears in the 47,000-acre traveled from South Dakota. There’s cer- ist.org and apps such as Seek that allow citi- is director of the Trailside Museums and Harriman State Park, he said. The re- tainly no resident population here. Cam- zen scientists to upload and share data. Zoo at , said searchers watched the bears but also era trap coverage isn’t complete enough “With these apps, you can take a photo, more camera traps are being installed by recorded their scratchings on trees and to say there are none with certainty. But add an identification and observational de- researchers and “citizen scientists” be- analyzed their droppings. They were able there are lots and lots of bobcats near us, tails and they will give you suggestions of cause their costs have fallen to around $50 to determine what the bears were eating and their numbers are on the rise.” what you’re observing,” he explained. “Sub- each. DNA analysis is providing important and how they climbed trees to get food, Scott LaPoint, a research scientist at mit it, and someone will identify it for you.” information on species and their origins. and their ritualized behavior, like rubbing Black Rock Forest, a conservation and re- “Studies which used to take six years now up against trees and “stomp walking” in can be done in 20 minutes,” he said. And depressions they had left in the ground. radio telemetry allows researchers to track the movement of animals such as , moose and snakes using GPS, he said. McGowan said recent projects in New York State parks have monitored piping plovers, a small bird which is “not doing well” in terms of maintaining its num- bers; the small-whorled pogonia, the rar- est plant in the state; and the decline of New England cottontail rabbits in Fahne- stock State Park. He also is taking part in a four-year project monitoring wintering golden ea- gles in the Highlands as part of a national survey on the birds. “We needed to figure out how many we have, so we got a roadkill deer, put it out A camera trap set up in the woods over in the forest and waited for cool things the winter. Photo courtesy Scott LaPoint A New England cottontail Photo by Amanda Cheeseman