Newfoundland Marten Education Committee

The endangered Newfoundland Marten (Martes americana atrata) is a subspecies of marten found only on the island of Newfoundland, and one of only 14 land mammals native to the island.

Marten are members of the weasel family and are identifiable by their large round ears, brown eyes, dark brown fur with lighter fur around the head and face, orange throat patch, and large feet with sharp claws.

Marten prefer to live in forests of both standing trees and fallen wood, allowing them to escape from predators such as fox, lynx and owls, providing habitat to make their dens, and giving easy access to prey under the snow in winter. Marten eat meadow voles, red squirrels, snowshoe hare and shrews.

The Newfoundland marten is endangered due to habitat loss, disease, predation, and accidental capture in snares. A small population of 300 animals remains in areas of western and central Newfoundland.

The Western Newfoundland Model Forest and its partners are part of a provincial Marten Education Committee that is spreading the message of the marten to ensure this unique animal will be a part of Newfoundland's forest community in the future.

For more information on the Newfoundland marten, visit the Marten Education Web site at: http://www.newfoundlandmarten.com/index.php

The Newfoundland Marten
– Ten Years of Research and Education

Working with the Canadian Forest Service, Inland Fish and Wildlife Division, Newfoundland Forest Service, the forest industry, academia and non-government organizations, the Western Newfoundland Model Forest (WNMF) has been working to sustain the island’s marten population for more than 10 years. We have coordinated partner funding and provided funding for marten research, and worked with government and the scientific community to promote marten education and outreach. We are helping industry determine how to modify harvest methods to protect marten habitat, and helping educate hunters on modified snaring techniques designed to better protect the marten.

Through collaborative efforts with industry, government and the research community, the Newfoundland marten population has stabilized and public awareness of this unique animal has increased.

The WNMF also helped create a nearly 1,500-square-kilometre reserve in the Little Grand Lake area of western Newfoundland to protect the endangered marten. The reserve system includes a combination of a wildlife reserve, a public reserve, and a provisional ecological reserve, which protects the intersection of three ecoregions, namely Western Newfoundland Forest, Central Newfoundland Forest and the Long Range Mountains.

The Little Grand Lake reserve system encompasses 1,496 square kilometres (577 sq. miles). It is located approximately 20 kilometres southeast of Corner Brook.

The engangerted Newfoundland Marten. John Gosse photo.