03/09/2026
Today, on National Pine Marten Day, we are excited to share that our new study, "Is Britain still great for pine marten? A Habitat Suitability Assessment," has been published in Landscape Ecology.
The research maps areas of land across Britain suitable as habitat for pine martens — a once widespread native species now Critically Endangered in England and Wales. For the first time, it draws on pine marten records from across the whole of Europe and found that areas with extensive woodland cover offer the best conditions, including South East England, and parts of South West England, Gloucestershire, East Yorkshire, East Anglia, South West Scotland, and sections of Britain's western coast.
This work forms a key part of our South East Pine Marten Restoration Project, led by Kent Wildlife Trust and Wildwood Trust, with Sussex Wildlife Trust, The Conservators of Ashdown Forest and Forestry England - supported by the Durrell Institute of Conservation Ecology (DICE).
Huge thanks to everyone involved, including Ella Lewis, Kirsty Swinnerton and Lawrence Ball at Kent Wildlife Trust; Rachel Gardener, Neal Armour-Chelu and Amy Fitzmaurice at Forestry England; Suzanne Kynaston of Wildwood Trust; and Dave Seaman of DICE - and to People's Trust for Endangered Species and Forestry England, who funded this work.
Pine Marten images © Terry Whittaker
