CSERC Newsletter: Rare fishers are among the victims of vehicle traffic in Yosemite

When bears and cars collide, drivers know they've hit something. Other species don't get the same attention. Among the less publicized road-kill victims in Yosemite are three Pacific fishers that were struck in the past year and at least two other fishers that were hit in the Park the previous year.

The Pacific fisher (Martes pennanti pacifica) is currently a candidate species for listing as an Endangered Species. The fisher’s range once extended from British Columbia through Northern California and the Sierra Nevada. Now only two isolated populations of fisher are known to remain in the State -- one in far northwestern California and the other in the southern Sierra Nevada. The northern boundary of the Sierra Nevada population is thought to be in Yosemite on the south side of the Merced River. This isolated population of fishers is estimated at perhaps 300 animals, with as few as five to eight fishers inside Yosemite Park.

pacific fisher
D. Thomas photo

Accordingly, with so few fishers, you can imagine the significance that comes from finding five rare fishers killed by cars over the last two years -- especially since three of those fishers were lactating females. All five of these road-kill events occurred on Highway 41/Wawona Rd (and even more road-kill fishers were found on Highway 41 outside the Park in the Sierra National Forest).

While each loss of a fisher is highly tragic, road-kill in Yosemite affects many other species as well, both rare and common. Drivers can’t control when an animal will run (fly, etc) into the path of a vehicle, but drivers can control the speed they drive. CSERC encourages all drivers to follow posted speed limits. A slower pace creates the increased potential for an amazing wildlife sighting to add to your driving experience, instead of a road-kill casualty and expensive vehicle damage if you hit something BIG.