South Dakota mammals

Pacific Marten in South Dakota

Martes caurina

Native to South Dakota S5 Secure in South Dakota

Not listed as nonindigenous in South Dakota by USGS NAS; native to its South Dakota range.

IUCN Red List status

NE – Not Evaluated

Not yet assessed against IUCN Red List criteria.

Photo: Pirataber · CC BY 4.0Pacific Marten (Martes caurina)Photo: Pirataber · CC BY 4.0Pacific Marten (Martes caurina)Photo: Pirataber · CC BY 4.0Pacific Marten (Martes caurina)Photo: noverholtz · CC BY-SA 4.0Pacific Marten (Martes caurina)Photo: Oregon State University · CC BY-SA 2.0Pacific marten Martes caurina

Pacific Marten in South Dakota, by the numbers

Occasional in South Dakota 64th most recorded of 100 mammals logged in South Dakota

11 occurrence records

11 with iNaturalist photos

Sep 20, 2025 Last seen in South Dakota

Records from 2000–2026.

When to look for the Pacific Marten in South Dakota

Most sightings fall in September.

11 South Dakota occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence. Based on a small number of dated records; the seasonal pattern may not be representative.

Monthly South Dakota records (table)

Month	Records
January	0
February	0
March	0
April	0
May	2
June	1
July	0
August	2
September	6
October	0
November	0
December	0

Monthly pacific marten occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in South Dakota, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Sparse observation record in South Dakota; presence confirmed but timing of activity not well documented.

Occurrence map

Where Pacific Marten has been recorded in South Dakota

11 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

11 South Dakota records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monument	iNaturalist records
Black Hills National Forest	4
Black Elk Wilderness	1
State Recreation Area	1

Protected places with the most pacific marten sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in South Dakota

County	Records
Lawrence County	5
Custer County	5
Pennington County	1

The complete county distribution, spread across 3 South Dakota counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Pacific martens carry a NatureServe S5 secure rank in South Dakota, a healthy state-level read for a species confined to the Black Hills’ mature coniferous forest, an isolated southern outpost of its range. Black Hills National Forest accounts for 4 of the state’s 11 iNaturalist records, more than any other site, fitting the dense spruce and pine cover this weasel relative depends on for hunting and denning.

September alone accounts for 4 of the year’s monthly-tallied sightings, more than a third of the total, plausibly tracking increased ground-level activity as martens cache food ahead of winter; the record shows nothing at all outside a narrow May-through-September window.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Full species profile Pacific Marten Martes caurina Size 50–70 cm1.6–2.3 ft Weight 0.5–1.4 kg1.1–3.1 lb Lifespan Up to 17.8 yr View the full profile

More mammals in South Dakota in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"