Rocky Mountain Martes
Words by Brian Long | Photograph credit to Brian Long
I was hiking along Fraser Creek, near Taos Ski Valley, when I saw something moving on the other side of the creek. It ran with a bowlegged, squirrel-like gait and urinated on several rocks on a small game trail. It was a brief encounter, but I was intrigued and started learning more about them. I have been studying them ever since!
Now thirty-eight years later I am still trying to determine its distribution. My job has been complicated in recent years by numerous forest fires that have destroyed thousands of acres of habitat. Now forest “thinning” projects are impacting more prime habitat in my own backyard. Being the voice for marten habitat protection is ongoing but these pleas have thus far fallen on deaf ears. Even moist riparian habitat has succumbed to this fate in the past two years, eliminating hundreds of acres of this lush refuge for innumerable species, including martens and their prey, while increasing the likelihood of wildfire.