What is Parks Canada doing to save the Newfoundland Marten?
Protected areas like Terra Nova National Park offer critical habitat where logging and trapping are prohibited. That makes Parks Canada, a member of the Newfoundland Marten Recovery Team, a key player in restoring Newfoundland Marten populations. Two important recovery activities are research and monitoring. These activities help us learn more about how the Newfoundland Marten lives, and what it needs to survive. Terra Nova National Park has been involved with recovery efforts since the 1980s. In 1996, park staff partnered with World Wildlife Fund Canada and Newfoundland’s Inland Fish and Wildlife Division to intensify population recovery in eastern Newfoundland. Researchers have live-trapped martens in the park, outfitted them with radio-collars, and followed their movements to find out the following information: • the size of their home ranges; • the types of forest they used; • their feeding habits; and • their dispersal patterns. The information gathered through this recovery progr