In recent years, we have seen the most densely populated state in the union, New Jersey, welcome back the scrappy and resourceful Fisher..............Now, evidence has been cited in Michigan showing that the Fisher is expanding it's range out of the relatively uninhabited(human population) Upper Peninsula south into the more populated Lower Peninsula..............The Eastern half of the USA blinked out for the Fisher toward the end of the 19th century...............As the forests have recovered in sections of what was truly a northern hemisphere rain forest(40-60 inches of rain east of the Mississippi River), remnant Fisher populations have fought their way back and taken their rightful place as denizens of the Eastern woodlands...........Sympatric with their slightly smaller weasel cousins, the American Marten(both occupy similar habitat and consume the same prey base), Fishers have slowed the reintroduction of Martens through direct conflict and killing........................ Published accounts of mortality in unharvested populations of martens have varied (range 53- 95%) widely (reviewed by McCann et al. 2010)............. In neighboring Wisconsin annual adult survival of Martens was 0.81 (N= 34; McCann et al. 2010) in the Chequamegon MPA.................... Fishers were successfully reestablished in the MPAs prior to marten restoration efforts (Kohn et al. 1993), and there is strong evidence that fishers were responsible for at least 40% of the natural marten mortalities reported since 2000 (McCann et al. 2010, J. Woodford, WDNR, unpublished data)

Weasel-like fisher 

returns to

 northern 

Michigan

  a fisher is

 shown in North Allis

 Township, Mich., located in 

Presque Isle County. The 

fisher, a forest-dwelling

 mammal that once ranged 

across Michigan but disappeared

 from the state in 

the last century, has recovered

 strongly in the Upper 

Peninsula and its presence has

 now been confirmed 

at the tip of the Lower Peninsula,

 officials said Monday,

Written by

JOHN FLESHER

Associated Press

• 
  

TRAVERSE CITY — Once
 wiped
 out in Michigan, the
 weasel-like
mammal known as the
 fisher has
returned to the tip of
Michigan’s Lower
 Peninsula after making
 a solid recovery
 in the Upper Peninsula,
 state wildlife
officials said Monday.

With short legs, small ears,
 thick, dark
 fur and bushy tails, the
fisher once
roamed the entire state
 but had
disappeared by 1936 as
 loggers
 mowed down its forest
 habitat and
trappers over-harvested
 those that
remained for their pelts.
 State
 biologists began
 restoration efforts
 in the U.P. in the 1960s,
and within
a few decades the animal
 had bounced
 back sufficiently to allow
 a regulated
 trapping season.

Despite occasional
 reported sightings
 in the northern Lower
Peninsula, the
 Department of Natural
 Resources was
able to confirm the
 presence of a fisher
there only recently.
Melissa and Nate
 Sayers of Onaway
 were walking in
 rural Presque Isle
 County when they
saw what first
 appeared to be a bear
 cub in a tree, the DNR
 said. When it
moved, they realized it
was something else.

american pine marten slightly smaller than the Fisher

When shown photos
 of the animal,
DNR wildlife biologist
Jennifer Kleitch
 went to the location
and confirmed
 they were authentic.

“It’s a neat discovery
 — a good signal
 that things are going
well for the species,
” Kleitch said. “It’s
probably an indicator
 that their habitat is
 recovering.”

How fishers could have
reached the area
 is unknown. But there
 have been reports
of animals crossing
 between the two
 peninsulas at the
Straits of Mackinac,
 the 5-mile-wide area
 where Lakes
 Michigan and Huron
converge, when
 the surface freezes
 in winter, she said.

Although sometimes
 referred to as
“fisher cats,” they are
 members of the
 weasel family, which
 also includes minks
and martens. Males
 typically are three to
 four feet long and weigh
 seven to 13 pounds
. Females are slightly
smaller. They feed
 primarily on small and
 medium-sized
 mammals such as mice
 and rabbits as
 well as dead deer, fruits
and nuts.

They’re also among the
 few animals with
 the courage to attack
porcupines. The
 nimble fisher will cling
to a tree above
 the porcupine and
repeatedly bite its
 one vulnerable spot
 — its face, said
 Dwayne Etter, a DNR
 wildlife research
 specialist.

Porcupines damage
 softwood trees by
 stripping off bark, so
 it’s good to have a
predator that helps
keep them in check,
Etter said. Fishers
 rarely attack people
 unless they have
rabies or some other
disease. But they’re
 fierce when taking
on fellow mammals.

“All the members of
that family have
attitudes. They think
they’re much bigger
 than they actually are,”
 Etter said. “Even
 tiny weasels are
extremely aggressive.”