A coalition of six environmental advocacy groups filed a petition with the state Tuesday seeking protection for the Humboldt marten, a secretive cat-like predator, under the state's endangered species rules

The tiny mammals, of which there are thought to be fewer than 200 in the state, once roamed the coastal mountains from the Columbia River south to Sonoma County in Northern California, but their population has been decimated by over-trapping and logging of old growth forests, said Nick Cady, legal director at Cascadia Wildlands, one of the groups that filed the petition.

"Humboldt martens have been nearly wiped out by logging and development of their old-growth forest habitat and over-trapping," Cady said in a press release. "Protection under the Oregon Endangered Species Act will ensure they survive for future generations of Oregonians."

In Oregon, only two populations of the marten exist, one in the Siskiyou National Forest and the other in the Siuslaw National Forest, both isolated from one another. A recent study found that even the incidental death of one or two martens per year could lead to extinction of the Oregon populations.

"New science clearly shows that it's a life or death situation for Oregon's Humboldt martens," Tierra Curry, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement. "The fate of this cute little predator rests in the hands of Oregon's decision makers."

The creatures are under review for federal Endangered Species Act protection and California wildlife managers have recommended listing the animal under their own state Endangered Species Act. It is still legal to trap them in Oregon, however, which the petitioners are hoping to change.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has 90 days to respond to the petition and decide if a scientific review of the population is necessary.

-- Kale Williams

kwilliams@oregonian.com

503-294-4048