In 2013, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) began formally cooperating with Olympic National Park (ONP), where abundant, non-native mountain goats were not desired. ONP has a mandate to eliminate non-native species; WDFW has a desire to augment remnant native populations in the Cascades which have declined by 70% or more since the 1950s. Since the summer of 2018, nearly 300 goats have been translocated to the Cascades. This project has involved collaboration with numerous tribes as well as students and faculty from Western Washington University. Dr. Wallin will review the years of work leading up to this effort, results thus far and plans for the coming years.

Dr. David Wallin has been a faculty member in the Department of Environmental Sciences at Western Washington University since 1995. His research focuses on the regional-scale study of land-use effects on the structure and function of forest ecosystems and is heavily dependent on the use of simulation models, GIS and satellite remote sensing. Past projects have evaluated the consequences of forest change for vertebrate diversity and the regional carbon budget. Although most of his work takes place in the Pacific Northwest, he has also been involved in comparative studies of land-use effects on forest structure in other parts of the world. Much of his recent work has focused on wildlife conservation and restoration and on the emerging field of landscape genetics.