I think it will be pretty hard to find anyone, in an official capacity, who
will care to receive sightings of Red Fox in Washington. Keith Aubry of the
U.S. Forest Service is likely one exception though. Personally, I believe
that sightings of animals at mid-elevations of the Cascade Mountains
(500-2,500 feet) are very important to get on the record. The introduced Red
Fox seems to be relatively well established, near sea level, in western
Washington. I've heard of many sightings in areas within several miles of
marine shorelines. Then, there are the apparently native animals of the
subalpine parkland habitat in the Cascade Mountains. I have seen little or
nothing to suggest that the introduced foxes range into the occupied habitat
of the native foxes. I don't think there's much question that the animals in
the high country of the Cascades are isolated from the introduced
stock.Certainly, the predominance of the silver phase in these animals is
consistent with the native condition.

The paper that Kevin Purcell linked to suggests that red fox are incredibly
adaptable. If so, it is difficult to explain the apparent long-term
isolation of these two fox populations despite the many decades of
opportunity for the introduced fox to spread and come into contact with the
native form. As far as I can tell, the non-native foxes simply haven't shown
that much resilience and adaptability in Washington. They seem to occupy a
fairly specific niche.

Kelly McAllister
Olympia, Washington