Efforts to protect the Newfoundland pine marten, once in danger of extinction, have proven successful; such recent population assessments show that their now threatened state could be reclassified as vulnerable.
The Newfoundland marten, which has been protected since 1934, is a subspecies of the American marten. It is one of 14 species of terrestrial mammals native to Newfoundland.
The latest results of the COSEWIC assessment show that the animal is well and it will be recommended that the species be included in the list of endangered species.
Shelley Moores, senior director of Wildlife Research at the Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture, says that when serious measures were taken to protect the ancient habitat of the species and changes were made to the traps: everyone , from residents to hunters and even forestry and mining companies were incorporated.
That, Moores says, seems to have made a real difference.
“Everyone was involved in the recovery of this species,” he says. A recommendation will be made this fall, which could cause the Newfoundland marten to be included even more as vulnerable. Then, he says, we will have to keep working to keep improving the marten populations.