Location: Snowy Range, Wyoming
Research Type: Radio telemetry study
Forest Type: Engleman spruce/subalpine fir/lodgepole pine

Critical habitat: Access to the subnivean (under snow) surface appeared from this study to be critical for marten survival.

Coarse woody debris (CWD): Established animals maintained home ranges in the areas with the highest density of CWD. Forty nine percent of sites and 63% of episodes were associated with subnivean CWD (logs and stumps).

Management Recommendations: "Resting site requirements of marten illustrate thermoregulatory adaptations and help explain the reported association of this forest carnivore with old growth forest during the cold season."
Mature spruce-fir forests have important implications for management of marten in the central Rocky Mountains due to the prevalence of CWD in these stand types. Retention of spruce-fir old growth is indicated.