Pa. May Re-Introduce Pine Marten to Forests

From The Center Square

The return of a long-lost woodland critter to Pennsylvania is delayed — or may not happen at all.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission was considering a $2 million project to bring back the American marten, also known as the pine marten, to the commonwealth. About the size of two small cans of beans, the weasel disappeared from the woods here in the early 1900s due to deforestation and overhunting.

Officials planned to introduce 300 martens in the Northern Tier and estimated the population could hit 10,000 martens statewide. Within a year or two of the plan’s approval, the animals would get released into the wild.