Captured mountain goats from Olympic National Park being delivered to a staging area where they are cared for by veterinarians and then transported in refrigeraterd trucks to the northern Cascade Mountains for release/NPS, J. Burger.

This summer saw 101 mountain goats relocated from Olympic National Park and Olympic National Forest to the northern Cascade Mountains in Washington. Since September 2018, 275 mountain goats have been translocated.

This effort is a partnership between the National Park Service, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the USDA Forest Service to re-establish and assist in connecting depleted populations of mountain goats in the Washington Cascades while also removing non-native goats from the Olympic Mountains. Though some mountain goat populations in the North Cascades have recovered since the 1990s, the species is still absent or rare in many areas of its historic range. Mountain goats were introduced to the Olympics in the 1920s.

In addition to the 101 mountain goats released in the North Cascades, there were seven adult mortalities related to capture. Four animals that could not be captured safely were lethally removed. Ten mountain goat kids were transferred as a group to Northwest Trek Wildlife Park for stabilization, acclimation, and socialization. One kid will join six other goats in the wildlife park’s 435-acre free-roaming area. The other nine kids will move to new homes at other zoos. A total of 16 mountain goat kids have been given permanent homes in zoos: six in 2018 and ten in 2019.

Leading Edge Aviation, a private company that specializes in the capture of wild animals, conducted the aerial capture operations. The helicopter crew used immobilizing darts and net guns to capture mountain goats and transported them in specially-made slings to the staging areas located at Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park and the Hamma Hamma area in Olympic National Forest. The animals were examined and treated by veterinarians before volunteers transported them to pre-selected staging areas in the North Cascades. The mountain goats were transported in refrigerated trucks to keep them cool.

“We were very fortunate to have a long stretch of good weather in August which enabled us to safely catch mountain goats throughout the Olympics and make good progress towards reaching our translocation goals,” said Dr. Patti Happe, wildlife branch chief at Olympic National Park. “Many thanks to all the volunteers and cooperators, including several biologists and former National Park Service staff who came out of retirement to assist with the project.” 

“An operation such as this is impossible without the support and participation of a large team,” said Dr. Rich Harris, a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife wildlife manager who specializes in mountain goats. “All have worked tirelessly to give every goat the best possible chance at a new beginning in native habitat. In future years, we hope to be able to look back with the satisfaction of knowing we helped restore this wonderful species where there are currently so few.”

Area tribes lending support to the translocation plan in the Cascades include the Lummi, Muckleshoot, Sauk-Suiattle, Stillaguamish, Suquamish, Swinomish, Tulalip, and Upper Skagit tribes. Volunteers from the Point No Point Treaty Council, Quileute Tribe, Quinault Indian Nation, Makah Tribe, Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, Skokomish Indian Tribe, and Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe also assisted at the staging areas in the Olympics.

In May 2018, the National Park Service released the final Mountain Goat Management Plan that outlines the effort to remove the estimated 725 mountain goats on the Olympic Peninsula. Both the plan and the associated environmental impact statement were finalized after an extensive public review process which began in 2014.