Land-use and climate change are reshaping ecosystems and driving species loss globally. Such rapid environmental change presents unique challenges for conservation efforts as recovery is now occurring in novel ecosystems. Species recovery, in particular, represents a “wicked problem” in conservation, in which many complex drivers need to be considered to arrive at potential solutions. My dissertation focuses on the recovery of American marten (Martes americana) – a small forest carnivore of conservation concern – in the Great Lakes Region to identify important features and mechanisms that influence persistence. Through my dissertation, I explored the role of a rediscovered population on an archipelago to act as a regional refugia and model how connectivity affects future genetic and demographic potential. In addition, I examined potential mechanisms contributing to recovery including linking landscape conditions to demographic outcomes and the role of competition on dietary niches.