Kit Fox in Oregon
The arid lava plains of southeastern Oregon are home to a carnivore largely forgotten by conservationists in the state.
The kit fox dwells underground during the day, miles away from highways and cities. There have been less than 40 sightings of the species reported in Oregon. With so many other wildlife species directly threatened by human activities, its no wonder that more attention has not been paid to the kit fox. Out of sight, out of mind.
2012-2014 Kit Fox Survey
Recognizing the need for more information about the geographic range of the kit fox in Oregon, OWI led an effort to better understand the species distribution by establishing 174 camera stations in Lake, Harney and Malheur counties.
Each station was baited with an attractant and left in place to automatically record wildlife movements for months. Kit foxes were detected at 8 stations within the High Lava Plains and Salt Desert Shrub Valley ecoregions. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife was a partner in the project.
2015 Conservation Assessment
Synthesizing information from Oregon kit fox observations, research from other portions of the kit fox geographic range and environmental studies on Oregon rangelands, OWI prepared an assessment of the conservation status of the kit fox in Oregon.
Our report concluded that altered wildfire regimes and non-native grass invasions represent the clearest threat to kit foxes and that these processes are likely to be exacerbated by climate changes forecasted for the region. Increased mining activity likely to occur in SE Oregon could also impact the species.
kit fox den, malheur co. by dave vesely
Wildfires on SE Oregon rangelands are becoming more extensive and severe.
There is not enough information yet available to understand how wildfire in the region is effecting denning habitat and the prey base of kit foxes.
Distribution of 2012-2014 kit fox camera stations with a wildfire overlay. The survey was led by Oregon Wildlife Institute with assistance of Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Future Work
OWI is preparing grant proposals for our return to southeast Oregon. Our plan is to investigate new, more efficient technologies for detecting kit foxes and mapping their habitat. By collecting more kit fox observations we may be able to estimate the size of their population in Oregon and begin to analyze the impact of wildfire and non-native plant invasions on the species. Crucial steps for conservation planning.
Establishing and maintaining camera stations is expensive. The method also has limits in its effectiveness to detect the presence of kit foxes.