Wolverines in Winter: Ecology and Conservation of a Rare Carnivore in Large Landscapes

In partnership with the Sawtooth Interpretive & Historical Association (SIHA) as part of their 2024 Sawtooth Forum and Lecture Series.

Dr. Kim Heinemeyer will provide an overview of the little known and little understood wolverine, a species that occupies the mountains around us but which many of us have never seen or even realized were our neighbors. She will share results of research she and collaborators completed in central Idaho on wolverine responses to backcountry winter recreation and preview efforts to continue to monitor this elusive species.

This program will be livestreamed and available to watch later. Click here to watch online.

Dr. Kimberly Heinemeyer is the Senior Scientist and Executive at Braided Knowledge Environmental Consulting, based in Bozeman, Montana. Kim received her M.S. and Ph.D. in Wildlife Biology and Conservation Biology, respectively, and her research then and now has included a fascination with species we know little about and see even less – the ‘mid-sized’ carnivores that we share wild spaces with including wolverines, fishers and American marten. More broadly, she has spent her career pursuing her interest in the ecological, cultural and conservation values of large wild landscapes and the wide-ranging species that require them, including in the US Rocky Mountains, northwestern Canada and southern Africa. She and colleagues completed a 6-year research effort in central Idaho, including the Sawtooth NRA and surrounding landscapes, to document responses of wolverines to backcountry winter recreation. This study represents one of the most intensive studies undertaken to date looking at responses of a wide-ranging species to winter recreation. In on-going partnerships with federal and state agencies, Kim has continued to advance research and monitoring of wolverines and backcountry winter recreation to glean more insights into this fascinating species and the landscapes it occupies.