HARRISBURG, Pa. (WTAJ) — The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners will be meeting in Harrisburg toward the end of January to discuss various wildlife topics along with the proposed reintroduction of a forest-dwelling mammal.
During the Game Commissioners' meeting on Saturday, Jan. 27, three wildlife management plans will be up for approval including a 10-year reintroduction and management plan for the American Marten. The Bureau of Wildlife Management will be requesting final acceptance of the plan which would begin in 2024 and run through 2033.
Pennsylvania Game Commission Furbearer Biologist Thomas Keller created a draft of the plan which was available for public review in 2023. He and other members will be presenting a final draft of the plan at the meeting.
"We'll be asking the board to accept those plans. So if the board would accept the Marten plan, then that would give us the green light to begin moving forward with reintroduction. Of course, if the board would not accept the plan, then that's where the project would end," Keller said.
The American Marten, also known as the Pine Marten, is mostly found throughout the northern United States and Canada. The animal was once a native species of Pennsylvania but has not been seen in the state for over 100 years.
Deforestation and unregulated hunting caused the animals to be removed from the state for good. If the plan is approved, the Game Commission will release American Marten from other states and Canadian provinces into five different release locations in Pennsylvania over five years.