STATUS OF AMERICAN MARTENS IN COASTAL FORESTS OF THE PACIFIC STATES

Abstract

American martens (Martes americana) are associated strongly with mature conifer forests and once occurred throughout the mountains of the coastal Pacific states. We sought to document the distribution of martens in this region using historical records and to understand recent change in their distribution. We described the distribution of martens from 1900 to 1949 using museum and trapping records and compared it to recent (1989-1998) detections at camera and track-plate stations. Martens were detected at only 12 of the 237 (5.1%) survey sample units in coastal California, Oregon, and Washington. Martens are absent from most of the historical range of the Humboldt marten (M. a. humboldtensis) in California and also may have declined on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington. Few data exist from northwestern Oregon and southwestern Washington, but the limited amount of protected public land and absence of reported road kills are reasons for concern for populations in this region. Martens still occur in the central and southern coastal mountains of Oregon. Our results suggest that conservation of martens in coastal forests will require new initiatives to protect existing populations and new efforts to document all populations of martens in this region. Conservation measures should include a reevaluation of timber harvest plans that affect habitat in coastal forests, interagency cooperation on a coastal marten conservation assessment, and the collection of new survey information, especially on private lands in southwestern Washington and northwestern Oregon.