2022 Marmot Monitoring Results

Olympic marmot in a lush grassy alpine meadow
Standing in a lush grassy alpine meadow, an Olympic marmot appears to wave with an uplifted front left paw

NPS photo

2021 Results 2019 Results 2018 Results 2015 Results 2014 Results 2013 Results 2012 Results 2011 Results 2010 Results

Please click on a link above to view a summary of data from that year on the page below.


Program Overview and Results of the 2022 Field Season

2022 was the 12th year of the program, and our 6th year back after taking a year off in 2016 to analyze the data and evaluate the program. The design of the program has been pretty much the same in the past 6 years: the survey frame consists of 395 survey units in 74 clusters. There are 30 clusters in the core area - areas that I try to have surveyed every year for a more simplified look at changes over time (e.g., apples to apples); we have been able to survey these clusters pretty consistently since 2010. There are 33 clusters, including the new ones in the Hayes Fire area, that are designated to be surveyed occasionally as resources permit. The remaining clusters are no longer being assigned – mainly due to difficulty of access (e.g., the Bailey Range and Skyline).

In 2022 we were able to survey for marmots at 271 units in 55 clusters; all of the 30 core clusters were surveyed, 24 in the occasional group, and one of the Skyline clusters was surveyed by an NPS monitoring crew while on other duties. In the core, 77% of the units were completely surveyed. Several teams ran into either very hot weather or bears, and 23% had either an incomplete survey, folks had low confidence in their results, or there was no survey. In the core areas, the raw occupancy was 65% for complete surveys. Range-wide the raw occupancy was 53% for completed surveys.

 
A chart showing annual trends in completed Olympic marmot surveys from 2010 to 2022
Figure 1. Trends in occupancy in the core sites, complete surveys.
 
A map of the Olympic Mountains with dots to indicate survey sites.
Figure 2. Location of surveyed units and survey results, 2022.
 
We will be taking a year off from marmot monitoring in 2023. With the completion of this year’s data gathering we now have a another 6-year long chunk of data, and it is time again to take time off for analysis and evaluation. We plan to continue the program in 2024, so stay tuned.

Last updated: January 9, 2023

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