• Fuller, Angela
  University of Maine
  
• Harrison, Daniel
  University of Maine
  

American marten (Martes americana) are commonly used as an indicator of mature forests and have been used as an ecological indicator species in several national forests in the western United States. The use of marten as an indicator species is based on their association with late-successional, conifer-dominated forests. ln Maine, however, marten extensively use mixed coniferous-deciduous, deciduous stands, and stands defoliated by the eastern spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana) (Chapin et al. 1997, Payer and Harrison 1999). Researchers have suggested patterning silvicultural systems (e.9. partial harvesting) after natural disturbance regimes (e.9. spruce budworm) (Seymour and Hunter 1992). Although research indicates that spruce budworm-damaged stands receive use by marten, few studies have examined the stand-scale effects of partial harvesting on forest-dependent mammals such as marten.