PINE martens are England's rarest mammal and were thought to be extinct in Shropshire for over 100 years.  

In 2015, the first confirmed sighting of pine marten was captured on camera in the Clun valley. Since then, other sightings have been confirmed around the Stiperstones and in woodland on Pontesford Hill.   

This year, the Shropshire Hills Conservation Fund is supporting three community projects, led by the Shropshire Mammal Group, to study the behaviour and distribution of pine martens in the Shropshire Hills. The projects are increasing the geographic spread of monitoring pine marten with communities getting involved with camera trapping and den box surveys. 

In Wheathill parish, following several unconfirmed sightings of pine marten, den boxes have been installed at carefully chosen places to encourage resting and breeding, with camera traps set up close by.  Local volunteers have been trained to monitor the camera traps and data collected is being passed onto Vincent Wildlife Trust's Martens on the Move project.

Over 20 camera traps are now in place across the National Landscape, with more being set up this month.