Funding boost for Shropshire wildlife project

The project aims to survey and monitor pine martens and hazel dormice in the local woodlands and will be supported by Shropshire Pine Marten Project coordinator Stuart Edmunds and dormouse license holder Lucy Grove with the support of the local community and Shropshire Mammal Group.

Dormice are known to live in the area and the project will use expertise and field equipment to research the population, plus train people locally with an interest in wildlife. The area has never previously been surveyed for pine martens, but the elusive cat-sized species have been recorded on camera traps in other parts of the Shropshire Hills National Landscape and it is possible that individual martens move around a lot, frequently covering 20k or more.

Both species are legally protected due to their vulnerability to habitat loss. Dormice are declining in numbers nationally and monitoring is essential in planning the best course of action to protect them. Pine martens were presumed extinct in Shropshire, but thanks to camera trap technology, small numbers them were caught on film since 2015. This new project also offers an opportunity to research two mammals not usually known for sharing the same areas of woodland and forest.

Cllr Lesley Moxon-Jones of Morville Parish Council said: “The parish council are looking forward to the opportunity of working with Stuart, so that with our involvement in the Shropshire Pine Marten Project, we can make a real contribution to nature recovery in the county by understanding more about the wildlife in our local area”.

Stuart commented: "This additional funding will allow me to spread the search for pine martens in Shropshire to an area I haven't previously had the resources to cover, while also collecting data on other key declining woodland mammals like dormice and hedgehogs. Pine martens live in very low density in the county and their numbers are highly unlikely to expand unless more woodland is created, which is good news for a lot of other woodland wildlife".

People living in the Morville area are invited to participate in the monitoring, which will involve checking remote wildlife cameras and dormouse footprint tubes. There will be an introductory training session in May, but numbers are limited and will be on a first-come-first-serve basis.

For the latest report on Shropshire Pine Marten Project, visit the Shropshire Hills National Landscape page here: Shropshire Hills National Landscape website

You can also join the Shropshire Pine Marten Project Facebook group here: facebook.com/groups/shropspinemartens