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Ecology of American martens in coastal northwestern California

Informally Refereed

Abstract

Throughout their geographic distribution, American martens (Martes americana) are closely associated with late-successional mesic coniferous forests having complex physical structure at or near the ground (Bissonette et al. 1989, Buskirk and Ruggiero 1994). Recently, Zielinski et al. (2000b) documented a substantial decline in the distribution of a recognized subspecies, M. a. humboldtensis, endemic to the coastal forests of northwestern California (Grinnell and Dixon 1926). Currently there is only one known population occupying less than 5% of the historical range. There have been no investigations of the habitat ecology of the Humboldt marten or of M. a. caurina in the coastal forests of Oregon or Washington. This study will provide important new information on the ecology of martens within the historical range of the Humboldt subspecies. This information will be important for identifying management options that favor martens and for identifying the role martens can play in conservation planning (e.g. Noss et al. 1996) within the redwood region. This project has two phases: Phase I will provide information on the distribution of the population and characterize habitat selection at the stand and landscape scale and Phase II will provide fine-scale information on home ranges and resting structures.

Citation

Slauson, Keith M.; Zielinski, William J.; Hayes, John P. 2002. Ecology of American Martens in coastal northwestern California. Unpublished Progress Report II, June 5 - December 10, 2001. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station and Department of Forest Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon. 40p.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/3682