A new project has thrown a lifeline to the few remaining pine martens in the south of Cumbria.
The project, led by the University of Cumbria, has released 13 healthy adults – eight females and five males – in Forestry England’s Grizedale Forest and the Rusland Valley.
The animals were moved recently under licence from strong populations in the Scottish Highlands.
In Cumbria, a growing movement of landowners and conservation groups share a vision to restore nature by returning native species as the building blocks of healthy ecosystems. Twenty years ago, many species were endangered or completely absent in south Cumbria.
Pine martens now share the landscape with other reintroduced species such as red kites and beavers. Crucially, researchers believe that pine martens will assist another well-loved native species – the red squirrel.
The red squirrel is part of Cumbria’s natural and cultural heritage but despite much good work by local groups, the species is declining and threatened by squirrel pox virus – a deadly disease transmitted by the growing number of non-native grey squirrels.
Dr Mic Mayhew, University of Cumbria researcher and lead of the South Cumbria Pine Marten Recovery Project, said: “To save our red squirrels we will have to use all available methods to control grey squirrels including ongoing culling and the development of oral contraceptives, but pine martens are a vital nature-based part of the solution.
“Despite concerns by some about the impact of pine martens on remaining red squirrel populations, all the evidence indicates that where pine martens co-exist with red and grey squirrels, they can reduce grey squirrel numbers and allow the reds to thrive.”
As the first of two releases, the project hopes that by returning some pine martens to their ancestral woodland homes, populations will be able to grow once the animals have set up new territories and start to breed.
The released pine martens will be monitored by volunteers, vets and students from the University of Cumbria using radio-tracking techniques and remote camera traps to assess their health, establish how far they travel and identify breeding events.
A network of den boxes has been installed throughout the region to provide secure breeding sites for the pine martens next spring.
Since feasibility work started on the pine marten project in 2020, the team has built strong relationships with the rural communities in the release area and most welcome the return of pine martens.
To avoid conflict with local shooting interests, the project team is working closely with gamekeepers and farmers to protect their game birds and poultry and will provide an ongoing mitigation service to avoid any problems in the future.
With funding from Rewilding Europe and Ozone, the Cumbrian project is supported by a regional partnership.
This includes the Upper Duddon Landscape Recovery Project led by the University of Leeds, Natural England, Cumbria Wildlife Trust and the Lake District National Park Authority but it could not have achieved its aims without the involvement of Forestry England and neighbouring landowner Graythwaite Estate, which combines traditional field sports activities with ambitions to restore missing and threatened species such as beavers, red squirrels and rare butterflies.
The Forestry England team paved the way for the recovery of the pine marten in Grizedale Forest and the Rusland Valley, and using Forestry England experts, licensed reintroductions of pine martens has gone ahead.
The university said the future of the 13 pioneers will depend on the attitudes and actions of local people, whom researchers will work closely with to provide a brighter future for pine martens in the county.
