Newfoundland marten downlisted as population grows

The government of Newfoundland is downlisting the status of the American marten, due to increasing populations on the island. The marten is being downlisted from threatened to vulnerable under the provincial Endangered Species Act. The Newfoundland pine marten (Martes americana atrata) is one of only 14 mammal species native to the island, and its population is considered not only geographicly isolated by genetically distinct from other martens.

First considered endangered in 1996, it was one of the first species formally designated under the provincial Endangered Species Act in 2002. Recovery programs have been in place since the 1990s. The current population is estimated at between 2,500 and 2,800 mature animals.

The new listing “reflects years of cooperation and hard work,” said Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture Minister Elvis Loveless.

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