The Department of Fish and Wildlife Pushes to put the Cascade Red Fox on the Threatened Species List

The Department of Fish and Wildlife is pushing to add the Cascade Red Fox on the threatened species list.

Wildlife Diversity Division Conservation Assessment Section Manager Taylor Cotten explained how putting the Cascade Red Fox on the threatened species list would help prioritize the protection and preservation of these foxes.

The Cascade Red Fox is a subspecies of fox native to southern Washington around the Cascade area near British Columbia.

Currently, this fox species lives in a higher elevation in the Cascades, south of I-90.

Risks to the population include declining snowpack due to climate change, competing with coyotes for food, and contracting diseases from domestic dogs.

Cotten said that in the near future, a research team from the University of Washington will be looking into threats that may be impacting the Cascade Red Fox population.

Biologists will also be going to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife commission on Sep. 23, to discuss this topic further.