The Olympic marmot (Marmota olympus) is only found in the Olympic Peninsula just south of Vancouver Island. The US National Park Service runs an annual citizen-science project, recruiting "Marmoteers" to monitor marmot numbers. We, two avidly keen Marmoteers, were dispatched for a 4 night, 5 day trip to the Lake of the Angels area. After four days of searching and scanning known burrow areas we found ZERO marmots. Increased temperatures have allowed shrubbery to grow higher and higher, displacing marmots and altering alpine ecosystems. In their place, mountain beavers (Aplodontia rufa) are now thriving.
