The Olympic marmot, nicknamed the ‘whistle pig,’ is often heard before it is seen in alpine meadows. "They’re the fluffy denizens of these beautiful alpine meadows," said Noah Greenwald from the Center for Biological Diversity. "As the temperatures warm and snowpack decreases, trees move uphill and we’re going to see forest taking over these meadows. With losing these meadows, we’ll lose the marmots too." Currently, an estimated 2,000 to 4,000 Olympic marmots remain.
Greenwald, along with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, argues reintroducing this apex predator could restore balance to the ecosystem. An approach is currently underway on the eastern side of the state, where resettled Rocky Mountain wolves now roam the Cascades. However, these wolves may not be the best fit for the Olympic Peninsula’s lush environment.