Game Commission hopes to reintroduce American martens to PA forests
Many icons of the Pennsylvania Wilds – whitetail deer, turkeys, elk, bald eagles, peregrine falcons, and river otters – are all products of reintroduction. The Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) has been working since the early 1900s to bring these species back after being hunted or killed off in other ways by human interference. Another may soon join them: the American marten.
Martens are small, furbearing mammals in the mustelid family (think weasels, badgers, and otters). At one to three pounds, 19-27 inches, and covered in brown fur with an orange chest, some might even call them adorable. They used to thrive around this area, but between deforestation and unchecked fur harvesting, the local population disappeared around 1900.
Our environment evolves – that’s nothing new, but humans have a history of expediting this process. Ever since Europeans immigrated and settled on this land almost 400 years ago, many species like the marten have been pushed to near extinction.
But if we’ve gone this long without them, why bring them back?
Each piece of an ecosystem provides some sort of benefit. Even though some of the jobs the martens perform can be done by someone else, it makes the environment that much richer.
“Every major natural resource management organization in the state has a goal to maintain or increase biodiversity, and this is one of the few chances to actually increase it,” says Tomas Keller, Furbearer Biologist heading the project. “We have a legacy of returning wildlife not just for today, but for generations to come.”
Reintroduction brings two immediate benefits: rodent population management and seed dispersal. Martens eat mostly small rodents and plants, keeping nuisance and disease-carrying rodents in check and broadening plant ranges.
There are also potential economic benefits to reintroduction. Though hard to measure, Keller points out that previous reintroductions have largely benefited the outdoor recreation industry here in PA. Eagles, deer, turkey, elk, and otters bring in photographers, viewers, and hunters that benefit local economy.
The plan is to reintroduce and manage the martens over the course of ten years within quality habitat in Pennsylvania’s northern tier. This includes parts of the Allegheny National Forest in the Northwest and State Game Lands 57 and 13 in the Northcentral and Northeast regions.
According to Keller, American martens have a range of about 3.5 square miles and “are very habitat specific.” They like quality forests…can you blame them? Their preference and low range make it unlikely that they would just run rampant.
Even with public support currently at 92% in favor, challenges lie ahead in the form of feasibility assessments, as well as creating solid plans for reintroduction, management, and monitoring of the population. A draft for these plans will be presented in July this year. The PCG will then be looking for public feedback and will provide easy ways to do so.
“Because this species has been lost for over 120 years, I think it’s important for folks to become informed and learn as much as they can about the species and the project,” says Keller.
The PGC has several resources for the public to peruse and learn. Their website has an extensive wildlife note on martens, as well as a Storymap – a source of information that makes it easy to follow the history and benefits of marten reintroduction.
Questions and concerns can be emailed to the biologists at Pamarten@pa.gov.