BENEZETTE — The Pennsylvania Game Commission held a presentation at the Elk Country Visitors Center in Benezette Saturday to discuss the possible reintroduction of the American marten to the state.

The American marten is a two-pound member of the weasel family that has been absent from Pennsylvania’s woods for over 120 years. Host Thomas Keller, a wildlife research biologist, explained the benefits of the small mammal and addressed common public concerns.

The main point of interest was how the marten’s diet would affect wildlife, domestic animals, and livestock. Keller presented a list of the marten’s common prey species made using data from 13 studies. These studies were done in surrounding states with healthy marten populations.

“The majority of what they eat is small mammals,” Keller said. The species at the top of the prey list, starting at the most common, were mice, shrews, and voles. Keller stated that this would make martens effective at managing large rodent populations in Pennsylvania. High prey abundance would also keep martens from significantly competing with animals like bobcats and coyotes.

The snowshoe hair was in the middle of the list, and the ruffed grouse, a species of woodrat, and the flying squirrel were all placed very low. Goshawk and wild turkey were absent, having little to no cases of predation. According to Game Commission studies, martens can coexist with healthy populations of animals like wild turkey, grouse, and hare.

Keller explained that martens generally avoid human structures since they need to remain hidden to avoid birds of prey like hawks and great horned owls. This makes martens less likely to prey on livestock like chickens, and there was no evidence of martens preying on domestic cats.

After small mammals, the marten’s second most common food source was stated to be plants, most commonly seeds. Due to their diet of seeds and their wide 3.5-square-mile home range, they were said to be useful for seed dispersal. “It’s important for many of our native shrubs and trees,” Keller said, adding that they support a healthy forest ecosystem.

The marten’s suitable habitat would include much of north central PA and the Alleghenies. “We have all this coarse woody debris on the ground — rock piles and root balls,” said Keller, adding that this, along with our trees and wildlife, support estimates that marten could survive in local forests long term.

To confirm the marten’s viability, the Pennsylvania Game Commission researched marten habitats in nearby states. They then created a model of similar habitats in Pennsylvania. “We looked at New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, our nearest populations,” Keller said. Experts were brought in from Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan to assess the model. “They agreed that our model was accurate, and in some cases, we actually had better marten habitat.”

Touching on cost concerns, Keller said, “Economically, it is extremely difficult to put a dollar sign on a reintroduction. But it’s not hard to sit in this space,” referring to the Elk Country Visitor Center’s outdoor classroom, “and see the direct results of elk reintroduction. Over half a million people come into the elk visitors center each year.” Recreation such as trapping was another main example other than tourism for how marten reintroduction could recoup costs.

The American marten was described as a “legacy species,” and that in most cases, restoring a native species has beneficial effects for their ecosystem. “Pennsylvania leads the nation at

reintroducing species into the wild,” Keller said. He referenced how 200 to 2,000 animal species are lost globally each year and that scientists want to hold on to what they can.

A 10-year reintroduction plan is under development to address processes like the transportation of martens to the state and how the population would be tracked. This plan will be presented to a board of commissioners as early as January of next year. Keller said any questions can be emailed to him at thkeller@pa.gov and further information can be found on the Pennsylvania Game Commission website.