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This Week in Fish and Wildlife: A Pine Marten success story

Posted at 9:13 AM, Jan 27, 2022
and last updated 2022-01-27 11:13:58-05

BOZEMAN - Sometimes it's easy to forget when we’re talking about This Week in fish and Wildlife - the wildlife part is more than just deer, elk, bears and big game. Morgan Jacobsen shared a success story for a little smaller member of the Montana Wildlife population this week.

Two years ago, Fish, Wildlife and Parks began an effort to restore a population of Pine Martens to the Little Belt mountains. Jacobsen says historically the furry creatures lived in the Little Belts

But that population disappeared for a number of reasons. He says the restoration effort included the help of several volunteer trappers and trapper organizations. Jacobsen says the animals were live-trapped, and examined by FWP biologists and once determined to be healthy they were released into the Little Belts. The plan called for 30 animals last winter and 30 this winter. Jacobsen says those numbers have been met, and biologists this year were able to locate several of the pine marten released last winter.