Coastal Marten Extant Population Areas delineates four extant population areas for the coastal marten (Martes caurina) in coastal Oregon and northern coastal California. The dataset was created by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service using verifiable marten detections since 1980, as described in a 2018 species status assessment report. It represents the spatial boundaries of areas where likely self-sustaining populations exist.
Use Cases
- Mapping coastal marten population boundaries based on EPA polygons
- Assessing species conservation status based on the delineated extant population areas
- Planning habitat management strategies based on the identified EPA locations
- Analyzing the spatial relationship between marten detections and suitable habitat as described in the report
Strengths
- Based on verifiable marten detections collected since 1980
- Defines four distinct extant population areas with specific names (CCO_EPA, SCO_EPA, CAOR_EPA, NCC_EPA)
- Created by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service using a documented methodology including 2 km buffering
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
Provenance
- Source
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- Collection Method
- Delineated from current verifiable marten detections buffered by 2 km and connected using a minimum convex polygon tool.
- Time Range
- 1980–current (as of the 2018 report)
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-03-04 08:22:05.971963; freshness should be verified
- Geography
- Coastal Oregon and northern coastal California