"... animals in this group [martens, sables, and fishers] are the most wilderness-dependent mammals still remaining in forest ecosystems that have been altered by humans. Their presence symbolizes the natural character of our remaining forests, but it also reminds us of the vulnerability of these animals to future environmental changes. It is imperative that we understand how our treatment of forests affects the animals that live in them.” (1)

"Understanding spatial requirements can contribute to successful population management, including establishing conservation areas of the proper size. The more successful management schemes include conserving unharvested areas to retain as source populations from which dispersing animals can repopulate harvested areas (Strickland, this volume).” (7)

"... interest in the ecology of [Martes] has increased, with a shift of emphasis from the utilitarian perspective to a broader conservation concern in which Martes are recognized as important components of forest communities, and even as indicators of habitat integrity (Buskirk 1992).” (9)

"The association of the boreal forest martens and the fishers with late-successional forests has long been recognized; Ernest Thompson-Seton (1925) referred to the American marten’s preference for the ‘glooms of firs’ and to their adept use of the ‘brakes and tangles of this labyrinthine retreat.’ These mustelids specifically need overhead tree cover and physically complex structure at or near ground level (Buskirk and Powell, this volume). Old growth provides both.”