The coastal marten will get new habitat protections

The coastal marten (aka Humboldt marten) is a subspecies of the Pacific marten. It inhabits the northwest corner of California and southwest corner of Oregon. This weasel-like animal has lost a staggering 90% of its historical range. 

The coastal marten is a mouse-eating, forest-loving creature that was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 2020. Logging had wiped out much of its turf, or driven out the marten. 

Now the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will designate 1.2 million acres of critical habitat for the coastal marten, of which 1.1 million acres are federal land. 

What is a critical habitat designation? 

Critical habitat means the areas required for the animal to survive and begin to recover its population. It limits and restricts what federal agencies can do, and what they can permit. 

From the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website: “All federal agencies are required to use their authorities to help conserve imperiled species. Federal agencies are prohibited from destroying or adversely modifying designated critical habitat. This means they must consult with the [Fish and Wildlife] Service about actions that they carry out, fund, or authorize to ensure that they will not destroy or adversely modify critical habitat.” 

Will this be enough to save the coastal marten? 

Critical habitat designation is vitally important to prevent this species from continuing down a path toward extinction, and 1.2 million acres is nothing to sneeze at. Still, it could be that the marten may ultimately need more. 

Chelsea Stewart-Fusek, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, was happy with the designation but noted that the 1.2 million acres are made up of “disconnected habitat fragments.” 

Time will tell if this is enough. In the meantime, we’re pleased to see that see that this marten has a stronger toehold on survival.