Pennsylvania Game News - July 2023 - 30

That effort focused on the species' history
here, marten ecology including diet, habitat
needs and availability, impacts to other
species and the potential for future climate
change to impact their sustainability.
That work found that martens, once
common throughout Pennsylvania forests,
even ranging down the Appalachians
into Tennessee, could live here again. Onthe-ground
research and development of a
habitat model both showed there's lots of
high-quality, connected habitat they might
fill, all without negatively impacting other
wildlife populations.
As a result, the Game Commission is
developing a marten reintroduction and
management plan. It would outline where
Pennsylvania might acquire martens,
where they might be released, and how
trap-and-transfer would work.
That doesn't mean martens are being
reintroduced yet. There's a process to
these things.
This plan will be presented to the
Board of Commissioners, with a request
that it be released for public review. If
that's granted, a final plan will be completed
after receiving those comments.
Only then would it be taken back to the
Board for possible acceptance and implementation.
So
why bother? And why now?
Those are fair questions the reintroduction
assessment explored.
There are several answers to the why,
aside from the fact that the marten is a
symbol of the wilderness we once had
and could, to some degree, have again.
First, bringing back martens would do
no harm. The assessment found not only
that martens wouldn't negatively impact
other wildlife populations, including turkeys,
they actually promote forest health
and function.
It's true that there are species, like
30
ruffed grouse and snowshoe hares, struggling
right now. But that's not a result
of undue predation so much as habitat
degradation and disease. Bringing back
martens - like replacing a faulty spark
plug on a sputtering engine - could actually
help our forests get back to running
on all cylinders.
Second, bringing back martens could
be good for Pennsylvania's bottom line.
The outdoor recreation industry is a huge
economic driver across Pennsylvania.
The successful reintroduction of elk, bald
eagles and river otters contributes to that,
drawing people eager to see wildlife with
their own eyes. Martens could add to that.
Third, bringing back martens would
have cultural significance. They were
and remain important to local indigenous
people.
And finally, bringing back martens
would increase biodiversity. That's a huge
goal for all of the state's public natural
resource agencies. This is a rare opportunity
to act on it, one that many people
support. A Penn State poll suggested 92%
of Pennsylvanians overall - and 92% of
hunters in particular - support marten
reintroduction.
As for why now, the truth is there's
never been a better time to move forward
for martens. The funding, the manpower,
the technology, the public support and
the need to promote healthy forests are
all at a peak.
And we know we can do this. Pennsylvania
has always been a nationwide leader
in ecological restoration and species
reintroduction. Its people came together
time and again over the last century to heal
some of the wounds to the state's forests
and fields.
Not just for themselves either. Article
1, Statute 27 of the Constitution of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania states,
Pennsylvania Game News - July 2023

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