Table 2. General characteristics (variables) of fisher translocations that could influence translocation success.
| Variables that could influence translocation success | Variable name | VORTEX | Data |
| Number of fishers released | Number of fishers | Yes | Yes |
| Number of release sites | Number of sites | Yes | Yes |
| Number of years fishers released | Number of years | Yes | Yes |
| Sex ratio of released fishers | Sex-ratio | Yes | Yes |
| Feasibility assessment prior to release | Feasibility | No | Yes |
| Genetic diversity of source population (number sources) | Diversity | No | Yes |
| Genetic relatedness to source population (proximity) | Relatedness | No | Yes |
| Monitoring post-release | Monitor | No | Yes |
| Protection from fur-trapping for fishers specifically | Protect1 | No | Yes |
| Protection from incidental fur-trapping | Protect2 | No | Yes |
| Region (Eastern vs Western North America1) | Region | No | Yes |
| Season of release | Season | No | Yes |
| Type of release (hard versus soft) | Type | No | Yes |
| Ownership of lands where fishers released | Owner | No | No |
| Trapping re-established following translocation | Trapping | No | No |
Four variables were included in our VORTEX simulations and data for 13 of these variables were available from actual translocations.
1
106° West Longitude, chosen because it is midway within a gap between translocations that occurred in eastern versus western North America (see Figure 6).