This paper is a draft, dated July 1996.

"Historically, fisher were found throughout the northern forests of North America with extensions of their distribution south along the major mountain ranges (Appalachians, Rockies, and the Pacific Coast Range) and north into the interior of British Columbia. There is no record of them occurring in Alaska or on coastal islands." P. 1

"History of Fisher in Montana: Historically, fishers range extended throughout the mountainous portions of Montana. Unregulated trapping and habitat destruction during the 19th and 20th centuries significantly reduced fisher populations throughout the west. During the 1950’s the Montana Department of Fish and Game conducted statewide furbearer surveys and was unable to authenticate any fisher sightings or captures in the state since the 1920’s. In 1959, nine fisher were transplanted from Central British Columbia to the Pine Creek Drainage in Lincoln County, Montana. An additional release of 15 fisher was made at Holland Lake in Missoula County and in 1960, 12 fisher were released at Moose Lake, Granite County, Montana. Based on the incidental trapping of fisher in sets for other species, Weckwerth and Wright believed that the releases at Pink Creek and Holland Lake had been most successful. Fisher trapping was closed in Montana until the 1983-84 trapping season, when a quota of 20 animals was placed on the harvest. Another fisher transplant was conducted between 1988 and 1991, when 110 animals from Minnesota and Wisconsin were released in the Cabinet Mountains of the Kootenai National Forest." P. 2

"The characteristics of two fisher natal dens in the Western United States have been published. One den, found on the Kootenai National Forest, was located in a hollow log, 11 m (36 ft) long and 30 cm (12 in) in diameter... Another natal den, found in California, was located in a ponderosa pine snag with a d.b.h. of 89 cm (35 in)... cavities in either live or dead trees are the most common natal den sites for fishers...” P.2

"There are a variety of methods used to calculate home range and they are not always comparable. Therefore, estimates of home range should be viewed cautiously and used only as a guide rather than fact." P.3

The map on p. 8 of Potential Fisher Habitat on the Kootenai National Forest includes, "potential fisher travel, denning, and resting habitat", which "indicates that 13% of the Kootenai National Forest is suitable for fishers."

"This map should serve as a guide to areas that could potentially serve as fisher habitat and warrant closer inspection before management activities occur which would significantly change the character of the area. While there are some differences in the results from studies that remain to be explained, it is nonetheless evident that in the Northern Rockies fisher are most often found in late successional, complex forests and riparian areas. This does not preclude the possibility of timber harvest of other management activities from occurring in identified fisher habitat. In the Northern Rockies, fisher evolved with small openings usually created by wildfire that left wide edges (ecotones) in which prey species flourished. Similar openings can be created through natural or prescribed fire or timber harvest." P. 7