A MAN FOR THE MARTENS
An At Film from the North Woods
Though once lost due to over-trapping, the rare American marten (Martes americana) again adorns the hemlock, white cedar, and black spruce forests of Northern Wisconsin. Elusive, arboreal, and nocturnal, martens are all but impossible to meet. Yet one man, Northwoods naturalist Zach Wilson, knows many. The son of a trapper, Wilson employs both old (snowshoeing, tracking) and new (ATVs, radio telemetry, camera traps) techniques to chase the critters across the lakelands. In doing so, he hopes to assure the persistence of the martens in Wisconsin. A profile of Wilson and his work offers an intimate and unusual portrait of a 21st century Northwoods man, and the rare chance to meet a marten.
Made in association with the North Lakeland Discovery Center
Shot in March and April 2011 in Iron County, Wisconsin