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By Walt Young
sports@altoonamirror.com
Last month, the Pennsylvania Game Commission announced it is considering the possibility of reintroducing the American marten to the forests of Pennsylvania.
The Game Commission recently completed a study titled "Reintroduction Feasibility Assessment for American Martens." A synopsis of this research is available at the agency's website, www.pgc.pa.gov. Members of the Game Commission staff are also working on an "American Marten Reintroduction and Management Plan," which will outline how and where potential marten reintroductions could occur and how such populations would be monitored. Once completed, this long-term plan would be submitted to the Board of Game Commissioners for consideration and possible implementation.
And if you are wondering what the heck is an American marten anyway, you have plenty of company. As part of the marten feasibility study, a short survey of Pennsylvania residents, both hunters and non-hunters, was conducted.
The first question of the survey was: Have you ever heard of the American marten? Nearly 80 percent of the respondents indicated they weren't sure or had never heard of the American marten.
The second question was: If it is possible, would you support or oppose efforts to bring the American marten back to Pennsylvania? So while the overwhelming majority of folks have no idea what a marten is, a whopping 92 percent of them support the idea of releasing martens into the wild in Pennsylvania. Fascinating but not unexpected.
The American marten, also known as the pine marten, is a member of the weasel family. Martens are about the size of an American mink or a large fox squirrel with adults weighing 1 to 3 pounds with males being larger than females. They are tawny brown to almost black in color with long, silky fur resembling that of a sable.
Martens were once common throughout the mature forests of the Northeast. Although there are still small populations of martens in New York, it is considered extirpated from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Massachusetts, West Virginia, Ohio, New Jersey, and Illinois.
They disappeared from Pennsylvania in the late 1800s and early 1900s primarily due to loss of forest habitat and unregulated trapping pressure. The luxurious pelt of the marten made it a highly sought-after target of the fur trade during the nineteenth century.
Martens are currently broadly distributed across the forests of northern North America from Newfoundland to Alaska. Even in those areas where martens could be considered common studies have shown their population density tends to be rather low with only .4 to 2.5 animals per square kilometer. As might be expected, population density is often directly related to the abundance of prey species. Individual martens also tend to have relatively small home ranges.
Martens are classified as predators but most research indicates they are true omnivores that will consume a varied diet depending on the locality and season of the year. Small mammals, especially mice and voles, typically comprise the bulk of their diet, although gray squirrels, red squirrels, flying squirrels, chipmunks and rabbits will be taken if available. Martens are known to prey on ruffed grouse and other small birds. In summer, they will eat fruits, other plants and insects.
Martens reach sexual maturity at one year, but effective breeding generally occurs at age 2. They are usually solitary except for their breeding season in late summer. Females give birth in late March or April to a litter of 1 to 5 kits. Young martens reach adult body weight in about three months. They typically stay with their mother through the first summer and disperse in the fall.
In the wild, martens have been known to live 14 years, but most have lifespans of three to four years. Because of their size, martens often can become prey themselves. Depending on where they live, martens are vulnerable to predation by red foxes, coyotes, great horned owls, bald and golden eagles, bobcats, lynx, fishers, wolverines, grizzly and black bears, and grey wolves.
If you would like to know more about the American marten and the possible restoration efforts for it, the Game Commission is hosting a series of presentations around the state. Attendees will also have the opportunity to speak with Game Commission staff. These events are free, and no advance registration is required. The presentation scheduled for our region will be Sunday, April 23 from 2-3:30 p.m. at the Game Commission Southcentral Region Office, 8627 William Penn Highway in Huntingdon.