Fundraising plan to buy £5m red squirrel habitat

A charity has launched a £5m fundraising campaign to secure tracts of land which could help support the native red squirrel population.

The Woodland Trust wants to raise £4.86m to acquire 348 acres (141 hectares) of Snaizeholme Valley, near Hawes, as a "once in a lifetime opportunity".

The land, where red squirrels already roam and forage, has been temporarily secured thanks to the help of a "sympathetic organisation", giving the charity two years to raise the money.

Paul Bunton, from the Woodland Trust, said the additional land would be "fantastic for enhancing and protecting the wildlife and the habitats".

The charity said it wanted to "grow a healthy and vibrant new woodland that gives red squirrels the best possible chance to thrive".

An endangered species in England and Wales, the red squirrel's biggest threat is the grey squirrel which carries - but is not affected by - a virus called squirrelpox that causes reds to die.

Snaizeholme sits within the Yorkshire Dales National Park, which is a grey squirrel exclusion zone and is currently grey-free.

According to the Woodland Trust, the UK population of red squirrels has dropped from around 3.5 million to around 287,000 at the most recent estimate, though the true number could be lower than this.

The population in England is thought to be just under 39,000.

The new land includes two large blocks of commercial conifer plantation, and a wedge of hillside nestled between areas the trust already owns.

Since 2023, the Woodland Trust has been restoring the valley's habitats through large-scale tree planting, covering more than 700 acres of habitat across the valley.

Site Manager Alec Pue said: "By bringing this land together, we can create a more connected, resilient landscape where native woodland, open habitats and wildlife can recover side by side."

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