Exmoor Residents to Learn About Pine Marten Reintroduction Plans

West Somerset plans to reintroduce pine martens to Exmoor. They will host drop-in events for residents and land owners to share information about the plans. About twenty pine martens will be released this autumn in secret Exmoor locations. A similar, successful project happened on Dartmoor last September.

Devon Wildlife Trust (DWT) leads this project, spending over £1 million. The National Lottery Heritage Fund provides the money, and Exmoor National Park Authority supports the project. DWT field officer Ali North has engaged with local people, organizing drop-in sessions at several locations.

These sessions feature a project update where people can discuss the plans and raise issues with DWT team members. The Two Moors Pine Marten Project partners with Dartmoor and Exmoor national park authorities. Somerset Wildlife Trust, Forestry England, The National Trust, and Woodland Trust also participate.

Pine martens, members of the weasel family, grow to roughly two feet long and weigh about three-and-a-half pounds. They have chocolate colored fur with a creamy-orange bib and are critically endangered. Pine martens lived on Exmoor until the late 1800s but went extinct due to habitat loss and hunting.