Exmoor

squirrel project

The Exmoor squirrel project

Protecting Exmoor’s woods, trees and wildlife


In March 2022, the Exmoor Squirrel Project was launched as a landscape-scale partnership between Red Squirrel South-West and Exmoor National Park Authority.

Funded by the Forestry Commission through the Woods into Management Forestry Innovation Funds (WIMFIF), the project brought landowners, communities, conservation organisations and wildlife managers together to tackle one of the biggest threats facing Exmoor’s native woodlands: the non-native Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis).

Exmoor is home to more than 9,000 hectares of woodland, including some of the South-West’s finest Atlantic Oak woodland. These ancient native woods are an important part of Exmoor’s landscape and support a huge range of plants, fungi and wildlife.

Grey Squirrels can cause significant damage to trees by stripping bark and damaging branches, while their presence can prevent natural regeneration. This can make it harder to establish new woodland, maintain existing trees and create the healthy, resilient habitats that Exmoor’s wildlife needs.

The Exmoor Squirrel Project was created to tackle this challenge together, at a landscape scale.

An example of Grey Squirrel damage to a broadleaf tree.

What did the project achieve?

Over the course of the funded project, we have made significant progress in bringing people together and increasing the scale of Grey Squirrel management across Exmoor.

Some of our key achievements include:

  • More than 10,000 hectares of land on Exmoor were under known active Grey Squirrel management.
  • We trained 97 people through Lantra-accredited Grey Squirrel Management Training, with a 100% pass rate.
  • We built a growing network of trained controllers, landowners, volunteers and partner organisations who can continue the work beyond the funded project.
  • We established a Live Trap Loan scheme, making it easier for trained individuals to get involved without having to purchase their own equipment.
  • We supported the move towards live trapping and shooting, helping Exmoor prepare for the return of Pine Martens.
  • We developed stronger relationships with landowners, conservation organisations and the wider land management community.
  • We raised awareness through public talks, local shows, schools, Forest School activities, social media and community events.

Perhaps most importantly, the project has helped create a much stronger culture of collaboration and shared responsibility for Grey Squirrel management across Exmoor.

Grey squirrel management works best when it is coordinated across neighbouring landholdings.

A controller working on one woodland can achieve far more when surrounding landowners are also taking action. That is why building relationships and connecting people has been such an important part of the Exmoor Squirrel Project.

Throughout the project, we have helped landowners, controllers, volunteers and organisations share information, access training and equipment, and work together across boundaries.

We have also supported the development of better monitoring and data collection, including woodland damage surveys and the recording of Grey Squirrel control activity. These will help us understand how woodland health changes as management continues.

The Forestry Commission-funded phase of the Exmoor Squirrel Project has now come to an end, but the work does not stop here.

The project has created a strong foundation for continued grey squirrel management on Exmoor. Landowners, contractors, volunteers and partner organisations are continuing to control grey squirrels, while woodland damage monitoring will continue to help us understand the longer-term impact.

We will also continue to share the knowledge and experience gained through the project and work towards a more coordinated approach to grey squirrel management across the wider South-West Peninsula.

Our long-term aim is to help create healthy, resilient and better-connected native woodlands, supporting biodiversity, tree planting, woodland management and the recovery of our native ecosystems.

And, ultimately, we want to help create the right conditions for the return of the Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) to the South-West.

Can we help connect you?

If you are active on Exmoor and are looking for someone to undertake Grey Squirrel control on your land, or if you are a trained controller looking for land to work on, get in touch with us.

Where appropriate, we can help match landowners and controllers, putting people in touch with others in their local area who are looking for permissions or practical support.

If you would like more information on the project please contact the project coordinator at exmoor@redsquirrelsouthwest.org.uk.

Can we help connect you?

If you are active on Exmoor and are looking for someone to undertake Grey Squirrel control on your land, or if you are a trained controller looking for land to work on, get in touch with us.

Where appropriate, we can help match landowners and controllers, putting people in touch with others in their local area who are looking for permissions or practical support.

If you would like more information on the project please contact the project coordinator at exmoor@redsquirrelsouthwest.org.uk.