Wolverine tracks lead through a snowy pass in the Wallowa Mountains in northeast Oregon. Wolverine researcher Audrey Magoun took the photo Sunday to confirm the first recorded evidence of wolverine in the region. Magoun’s glove is at left for size comparison.

For the first time in recorded history, biologists have confirmed tracks in the Wallowa Mountains of northeast Oregon are those of a North American wolverine.

A news release from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said researcher Dr. Audrey Magoun found the wolverine tracks in the snow Sunday while hiking to a remote camera site to detect wolverines. She followed the tracks for about a mile until they left the river bottom headed into the high country.

 From the size of the track, it is probably a male, Magoun said.

Vic Coggins, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife district wildlife biologist said this is the first confirmation of a wolverine in Wallowa County.

Weve always thought it was good habitat, and weve had reports but nothing we could verify until now, he said.

Magoun has dedicated her career to studying wolverine since she received her Ph.D. in 1978. She also said the habitat conditions were right, which was why she and research assistant, pilot and husband, Pat Valkenburg, undertook this winters survey in the Eagle Cap Wilderness. The pair are Alaska residents who use their own plane for aerial surveys.

There is a breeding population in the Payette Forest in Idaho and a breeding population in the North Cascades in Washington, Magoun said. In fact, we couldnt believe wolverine wouldnt be here. They travel large distances.

As part of the survey, Magoun and Valkenburg set up 14 baited field camera sites and made several flights. None of the cameras have yet yielded a photo of a wolverine, but 80 percent of the cameras had photos of American marten and some have detected native red fox. Biologists said these animals are probably the native foxes that were once common in the Wallowa Mountains.

According to Magoun, the next question is: Is this a lone wolverine or is the area occupied? She hopes to be back next winter field season to find the answer.

The wolverine was listed as threatened by the Oregon Game Commission in 1975, grandfathered as a state threatened species in May 1987 and reaffirmed by rule two years later. The animal became a federal candidate species on Dec. 14, 2010.

In 1936, the wolverine was thought to have been extirpated from Oregon, but the animals kept cropping up. In 1965, a male was killed on Three Fingered Jack in Linn County. In 1973, a wolverine was trapped and released on Steens Mountain in Harney County. In 1986, a wolverine was trapped in Wheeler County. In 1990, a dead wolverine was picked up on Interstate 84 in Hood River County. In 1992, a partial skeleton was recovered in Grant County.