Groups sue for endangered species protection for Olympic marmots
Quinn Welsch
(CN) — A furry rodent found in the rainy forests of the Pacific Northwest that has been facing a decline in population for decades could be one step closer to an endangered or threatened species status.
The Center for Biological Diversity says in a Wednesday lawsuit that U.S. Fish and Wildlife failed to make a determination to protect Olympic marmots, a large ground squirrel located almost entirely in Washington’s Olympic Peninsula.
The center claims in the suit filed in federal court in Washington state that the government violated the Endangered Species Act by failing to meet a 90-day decision deadline after it petitioned in May 2024.
Olympic marmots, of which there are only between 2,000-4,000, are listed as Washington state’s “endemic state animal” and reside almost entirely within the alpine meadows of the Olympic National Park. The Olympic marmots are known to hibernate for eight months out of the year, typically emerging from their burrows in May.
“I think the Olympic marmots are such a special animal and so near and dear to so many people, it’s time for them to have the Endangered Species Act protections that they really deserve and need to survive in the future,” Aaron Kunkler, a spokesman for the Center for Biological Diversity, said in an interview. “You can go up to these beautiful alpine meadows and bring your family and friends and see a big fluffy marmot tail bobbing across the meadow. They are also emblematic of those alpine meadow ecosystems. It’s the only palace where they live.”
However, the creatures face multifaceted threats from climate change that include the loss of habitat and increasing threat of coyotes, according to the Center for Biological Diversity.
The Olympic marmots’ natural habitats in high alpine meadows have begun to shrink as a result of climate change, Kunkler said. Within 100 years, those alpine meadows could disappear altogether throughout Washington state due to reduced snowpack and an upward creep of the tree line, he said.
The loss of these meadows impacts the marmots’ food source, which includes grasses and flowers, according to John Bridge, president of the Olympic Park Advocates, who described the small critters as the “iconic guardians” of the park. The encroaching tree line also makes it easier for coyotes to sneak up on them, he said.
“It’s not good for them,” Bridge said in an interview. “The marmots like living up high so they can see everything. They have to have good views.”
The impacts of climate change also mean an increasing number of coyotes in the high alpine meadows, which have become more numerous with the eradication of wolves from the Olympic National Park in the early 20th century, the center writes in its lawsuit.
Although wolves prey on smaller mammals, they primarily prey on deer and elk and would be an overall boon to the Olympic marmots because they would keep the coyote population in the peninsula in check, Bridge said.
“Ultimately, the hope is that wolves establish themselves across the state,” Kunkler said. “They are a vital part of the ecosystem up there. Coyotes are the main reason why marmots have declined over the past several decades.”
The Olympic marmots also have low rates of reproduction and are seemingly unable to migrate to new locations, despite these threats, the Center for Biological Diversity says. Additionally, the center writes that the marmots are threatened by increasing forest fires and the isolation of marmot colonies throughout the region.
This type of lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife is common, Kunkler said. The department frequently fails to decide whether an animal could be declared endangered or not, he said.
If the department determines the center’s petition to protect the Olympic marmots as an endangered species is warranted, then it will initiate a scientific review of the species. The department must then publish a finding within 12 months of the petition whether the protection is warranted or not.
If the Olympic marmots are eventually listed as endangered or threatened, Kunkler said he does not expect it will impact tourism in the Olympic National Park.
“That is kind of one of the things that makes it a little easier for the listing process,” he said “Ninety percent of marmot habitat is in a national park. There’s already no logging up there. It seems like a pretty easy lift for Fish and Wildlife to get it drafted up.”
Adding the Olympic marmots to the department’s endangered or threatened species list would allow it to create safeguards and a recovery plan to ensure their survival.