Why bring back the pine marten?
How can you help?
Boosting the number of pine martens will enrich
our woodland communities and help restore a
balanced ecosystem, but there are other benefits
too. Research from Ireland has shown that where
pine martens are spreading, grey squirrels have
declined. As a result, red squirrels have returned.
Accounts from woodland managers in Scotland
back-up this observation. This is good news for
both woodland owners and red squirrels.
Now is a critical time for the pine marten in England
and Wales, as the species stands on a knife-edge.
This project represents a chance to help ensure that
this iconic species will once again be a symbol of our
woodland landscape.
In Scotland, where the pine marten is doing well,
there has been a surge in interest from visitors
wanting to see pine martens. This is bringing
additional income to visitor centres offering viewing
hides, as well as to local hotels and B&Bs. There
could be the same opportunity in England and
Wales.
Find out how you can help, including donating
towards the project, by visiting the project website at
www.pine-marten-recovery-project.org.uk, or use
the contact details below.
The Vincent Wildlife Trust
The VWT is a mammal conservation charity working
in Britain and Ireland. It has a 40-year track record
of conservation-led research. The Trust’s current
work focuses on the pine marten, polecat, stoat
and the bats.
The Vincent Wildlife Trust, 3 & 4 Bronsil Courtyard,
Eastnor, Ledbury HR8 1EP
www.vwt.org.uk | enquiries@vwt.org.uk | 01531 636441
Charitable Company Limited by Guarantee Registered in England No. 05598716
Registered Charity No. 1112100 (England) and SCO43066 (Scotland)
Pine marten photos: A. Achterberg
Pine Marten Recovery Project
Helping to secure the survival of the pine marten
in England and Wales
Charismatic, elusive and running out of time,
this native British mammal has all but disappeared
from the rural landscape of England and Wales.
The Pine Marten Recovery Project
The Vincent Wildlife Trust (VWT), with a 30-year
history of pine marten research, is hoping to boost
our struggling marten population by bringing a
small but significant number of pine martens from
Scotland to suitable sites in England and Wales.
Our work in Wales
Our feasibility study has identified several areas
in Wales where the habitat is well-suited to pine
martens, and the VWT is now talking with local
landowners and communities in these potential
release areas.
A woodland mammal
The pine marten is a member of the mustelid family.
Other family members include the stoat, weasel,
otter, badger and polecat. The marten is chiefly
a woodland animal, using tree cavities as breeding
and resting sites. Its preferred diet is small
mammals and fruit. Martens have large territories,
lead solitary lives and therefore live at very low
densities.
Where have they gone?
In Britain, the pine marten’s historical decline was
in step with forest clearance, together with the
19th century rise in game shooting and associated
predator control. By 1900, the marten had
disappeared from much of Britain, confined to the
more remote upland areas of Scotland, isolated
areas of northern England, including Cumbria and
the North York Moors, and Snowdonia and the
Cambrian Mountains in Wales.
Today, the pine marten is doing well in Scotland,
with numbers increasing and its range expanding.
In England and Wales, this recovery has not taken
place and the population is unlikely to survive
without intervention – and intervention is the plan.
Pine marten population reinforcement is planned
to take place in Wales in the autumn of 2015 and
2016. Pine martens brought down from Scotland
will be released into an existing marten population,
increasing both the population size and genetic
diversity.
A survey carried out in Wales has indicated that
the majority of people would be in favour of action
to prevent the pine marten from becoming extinct
in Wales.
Our work in England
Pine martens are now found just a short distance
north of the English-Scottish border. This means
that they are likely to spread over the border and
re-colonise areas of Cumbria and Northumberland
in the near future. In order to monitor the spread
of the Scottish marten population into England, the
Trust continues to collect records and sightings
of martens in southern Scotland and the north of
England.
Pine martens are unlikely to re-colonise southern
and central England naturally and reintroductions
are likely to be the best solution if we are to restore
pine martens to these areas of England. The VWT
has identified areas in England that have suitable
habitat for pine martens and we will be undertaking
further assessment of these sites with a view to a
possible reintroduction programme at some point
in the future.