Editing Spokane, Washington (section)

===Flora and fauna===
[[File:Yellow Bellied Marmot (3516840552).jpg|thumb|right|alt=Yellow bellied marmot|Urban-dwelling [[yellow bellied marmot]]s are resident in the city, although the rodents typically inhabit remote, mountainous locations.<ref>{{cite web |author=Gonzaga University|title=The Rise of the Urban Marmot |newspaper=Newswise |date=August 6, 2014 |url=https://www.newswise.com/articles/the-rise-of-the-urban-marmot2| access-date = June 13, 2021}}</ref>]]
The area supports an abundance of wildlife in part because of its varied geology and natural history. The area contains a wide range of vegetation, from densely wooded [[Temperate coniferous forest|coniferous forests]] to rolling grassy hills and meadows.<ref>{{cite web |title=Canadian Rocky Mountains Vegetation |publisher=Landscope |url=http://www.landscope.org/washington/natural_geography/ecoregions/canadian_rockies/vegetation/ |access-date=August 6, 2016 |archive-date=March 26, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160326190012/http://www.landscope.org/washington/natural_geography/ecoregions/canadian_rockies/vegetation/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Ponderosa pine and Douglas fir are common in the drier and lower elevation areas throughout the region. The [[ponderosa pine]] is the official tree of the City of Spokane, which is where specimens were first collected by botanist [[David Douglas (botanist)|David Douglas]] in 1826.<ref>{{cite news |last=Wasson |first=David |title=Ponderosa pine named Spokane's official city tree |newspaper=The Spokesman-Review |date=April 22, 2014 |url=http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2014/apr/22/ponderosa-pine-named-spokane-official-city-tree/| access-date = August 6, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Callaham |first=Robert Z. |title=Pinus ponderosa: A Taxonomic Review With Five Subspecies in the United States |work=RESEARCH PAPER PSW-RP-264 |publisher=[[United States Department of Agriculture]] |date=September 2013 |url=http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/psw_rp264/psw_rp264.pdf| access-date = December 7, 2014}}</ref>{{ref|Douglas|[g]}}

The Canadian Rockies ecoregion supports 70 mammals, 16 reptiles and amphibians, 168 birds, and 41 fish species.<ref name=wildlife>{{cite web |title=Canadian Rocky Mountains Wildlife |publisher=Landscope |url=http://www.landscope.org/washington/natural_geography/ecoregions/canadian_rockies/wildlife/ |access-date=August 6, 2016 |archive-date=March 26, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160326194254/http://www.landscope.org/washington/natural_geography/ecoregions/canadian_rockies/wildlife/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> There is a high concentration of raptors in the area, bald eagles are a common sight near Lake Coeur d'Alene in December and January when [[Sockeye salmon#Landlocked populations|kokanee]] spawn.<ref>{{cite web |title=North Region: City of Coeur d'Alene |publisher=Idaho Fish and Game |url=http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/ifwis/ibt/site.aspx?id=n20 |access-date=August 6, 2016 |archive-date=September 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919140243/http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/ifwis/ibt/site.aspx?id=n20 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The most common fish present in area lakes is the Washington-native [[rainbow trout]], which is the official fish of Washington state.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rainbow trout: Information & Facts |publisher=Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife |url=http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/washington/Species/1246/| access-date = August 6, 2016}}</ref> Big game common in eastern Washington include black and grizzly bears, [[caribou]], [[Rocky Mountain elk]], bighorn sheep, and cougar.<ref>{{cite web |title=Eastern – Region 1 |publisher=Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife |url=http://wdfw.wa.gov/about/regions/region1/ |access-date=August 6, 2016 |archive-date=August 9, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809235057/http://wdfw.wa.gov/about/regions/region1/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Whitetail deer, mule deer, and [[moose]] are also found in abundance. The [[gray wolf]] population has been making a recovery in the Inland Northwest. As of June 2016, there are 16 wolf packs in eastern Washington.<ref>{{cite web |title=Wolf Packs in Washington |publisher=Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife |date=June 2016 |url=http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/gray_wolf/packs/| access-date = August 20, 2016}}</ref> In August 2016, photo evidence confirmed a solitary wolf in Mount Spokane State Park.<ref>{{cite news |last=Landers |first=Rich |title=Wolf on Mount Spokane? So what else is new? |newspaper=The Spokesman-Review |date=August 20, 2016 |url=http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/outdoors/2016/aug/09/wolf-mount-spokane-so-what-else-new/| access-date = August 20, 2016}}</ref>

Although the ecoregion remains ecologically intact, it faces conservation challenges that include the negative effects of certain forestry management and logging practices, higher risks of forest fires due to the alteration of the trees that make up the forest composition, and [[habitat fragmentation]] as a result of urban sprawl and development, which endangers the long-term survival of vulnerable species such as mountain caribou and the [[American goshawk]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Canadian Rocky Mountains Human Impact |publisher=Landscope |url=http://www.landscope.org/washington/natural_geography/ecoregions/canadian_rockies/impact/ |access-date=August 6, 2016 }}{{Dead link|date=May 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>