Staff at Vincent Wildlife Trust have produced a range of free, downloadable resources on pine martens and the work to conserve them in Britain. Some have written books that can be bought online through NHBS.
This article provides a chronological summary of the background, origins and delivery of the twenty-year Galloway Forest Pine Marten Den Box project.
Reprinted from the Transactions of the Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society, Volume 97 (2023), pages 1–16.
This paper compares the efficacy of three survey methods (live trapping, hair tubes and scats) for estimating abundance and population density of the European pine marten (Martes martes) in Galloway Forest, Scotland.
Photo: ©Robert Cruickshanks
We investigated the short-term effects of exposure to translocated pine martens on the space use and survival of resident grey squirrels.
Photo: ©Jason Hornblow
An investigation of post-release movement and habitat selection of pine martens translocated from Scotland to Wales using radio-tracking.
Photo: ©Robert Cruickshanks
As part of a national recovery programme for the pine marten Martes martes, a protected mesocarnivore in the UK, we used Q-methodology to understand the perspectives of residents living in an area in which a pine marten translocation project was planned.
Photo: Robert Cruickshanks
Since 2015, VWT has been involved in pine marten translocations from Scotland for population restoration in Wales and, more recently, Gloucestershire. A primary consideration in these translocations has been to minimise the potential for negative impacts on recovering donor populations in Scotland.
To this end, surveys and monitoring have been carried out to collect further data to inform the way in which current and future sustainable harvesting models are applied. Based on precautionary principles, VWT adopted a highly conservative approach to trapping and removals in the first instance.
Photo: ©Robert Cruickshanks
