The Vincent Wildlife Trust has received generous funding from The Co-operative to help progress its long-running pine marten conservation work in Wales. The People and Pine Martens in Wales project will develop understanding of the status and distribution of the pine marten, improve habitat and inform future conservation plans for the species in Wales.
The project has four key elements:
(i) Raising awareness
The project will include a full public and stakeholder survey to ascertain opinions on pine marten recovery. The survey will not only raise awareness of the pine marten and the project, but also provide opportunities to ask the public for feedback on a number of questions.
If you live in Wales, we would be very grateful if you could read this leaflet and then complete the survey here - it should only take 5 - 10 minutes. Please only complete the survey if you live in Wales, otherwise your answers cannot be used.
If you fill in the survey by 30th June, you will automatically be entered into a prize draw for the chance to win a weekend stay for 2 people at the Hafod Hotel in Devil's Bridge.
(ii) Detection activities
Fieldwork, including scat and hair tube surveys, will be undertaken at key sites in mid Wales to determine presence of pine martens. DNA extracted from samples will be used to infer valuable information about the pine marten population in Wales.
(iii) Habitat work
An assessment of contiguous forestry in ‘hot spot’ pine marten areas will be carried out and den boxes erected at suitable sites. In addition, a database will be set up to record afforestation and planting schemes that are taking place in priority pine marten areas.
(iv) Environmental assessment
An environmental assessment will be undertaken to investigate the factors that may be limiting pine marten recovery in Wales. Factors such as woodland size, age and structure, prey availability and intra-guild competition will be examined. It is hoped that the results of this research will help to inform future pine marten conservation and recovery plans.
A pine marten road casualty was recently found near Newtown, mid Wales - the first known carcass to be found in Wales in over 40 years! For more information on this significant find, see our news release.
Monthly project updates can be read on our blog.
For more information on pine martens, view the pine marten species page or the pine marten project page for information on the Trust's past and current work.
To get involved in the project, please contact project officer David Bavin.