Beavers

The issue – Why is this relevant to The Rivers Trust?

The beaver is known as nature’s greatest engineer; their dam structures can reach 2 metres in height and create complex ecosystems sustaining diverse plants, insects, and mammals. In Britain, beavers were hunted to extinction 400 years ago, however, they have been making a return in recent years due to a mix of authorised, and also illegal releases.

Beavers have an undeniable impact on the environment, particularly rivers. Their tree-felling and dam-building creates new ecosystems, boosts biodiversity and reconnects floodplains that slow the flow of water and reduce flood risk. However, beaver activity can also destabilise riverbanks, damage native plants, increase debris in flood assets and fish passes, and increase concentrations of pollutants upstream.

The Rivers Trust movement is interested to support evidence-based beaver reintroductions, as a multi-beneficial solution to the climate and biodiversity crises. Beavers deliver catchment re-engineering at minimal cost, which would take us humans many hours and resources to put in place. Additionally, as a native species, the reintroduction of beavers is justifiable in its own right on ecological grounds. The Rivers Trust movement recognises that beaver reintroductions are not universally appropriate, so we support evidence-based decisions with community involvement.

What are the contentious aspects?

Beavers can change the shape of our landscape and brush up against human land uses, so various groups have legitimate concerns around reintroductions. The Rivers Trust recognises these concerns and sees an urgent need to build the evidence-base around beaver impacts on UK river catchments.

Farmers can be concerned about the impacts of beaver activities on their land and business, as there are risks of crop damage, bank erosion and increased flood risk. It is essential, therefore, that beaver reintroductions engage with local farmers and are based on evidence about the suitability of the location. Well-managed reintroductions can mitigate these risks, e.g. by using fencing, tree guards and river buffer zones; this should be communicated to local farmers and prioritised during planning. Furthermore, private and public funding used to create space for water habitats would reduce these risks and potential conflict between landowners and beavers in the long-term.

Anglers have concerns around beaver impacts on fish populations, namely that dams may hinder fish migration (upstream and downstream) and increase water temperature, which harms some species. While not yet conclusive, evidence suggests beavers have a net positive impact on fish populations (although this may benefit some fish species over others) and reduce temperature fluctuations and decrease downstream temperatures in the long-term. The risk of dam breaching is also concerning, as this can cause flooding and release large amounts of sediment, which can clog up spawning gravels and degrade fish habitat in the short-term. Potential impact on fish populations, and wider biodiversity, must be assessed to determine if reintroduction is appropriate, and if risks can be mitigated by monitoring and management.

Management measures are an essential part of the picture, as beavers will have to coexist in relative proximity to people in the UK, compared to wilder landscapes in North America. We must address tricky questions around who will manage beaver populations and their activities, and who will fund this work. Although the debate often focuses on lethal control, there are other management options that could be better resourced by a strategic Government approach to beaver reintroduction.

What is our position?

The Rivers Trust includes beaver reintroduction as one of the many nature-based solutions that can help restore freshwater ecosystems, mitigate and adapt to climate change, and deliver benefits to the economy and communities. The Rivers Trust supports the work of local rivers trusts, many of which are involved in successful reintroductions and management activities at a catchment scale.

We advocate for a strategic, evidence-based approach that ensures beaver reintroductions are locally appropriate, involve diverse stakeholders, engage local communities, and plan for long-term management. The Rivers Trust suggests that CaBA Catchment Partnerships are well-placed to consider and help manage reintroductions, which could be built into wider Catchment Management Plans. Additionally, The Rivers Trust sees an urgent need for a Government-led, national strategy on beaver reintroduction to support evidence gathering and well-planned reintroductions.

The management of beaver populations and activities must be addressed in a government strategy and form a key part of trials and reintroductions. The Rivers Trust supports The Beaver Trust’s management hierarchy, prioritising prevention, mitigation, and lastly removal:

1. Making space for beavers: Making space along waterways can prevent the majority of human-beaver conflict. The Rivers Trust wants to see more river buffers to improve flood risk and water quality, but also to make space for beavers and other wildlife.
2. Mitigating beaver impacts: There are many tools to mitigate potential negative impacts; fencing and tree-guards impede foraging, flow devices and dam notching reduces damming effects, and tree planting and bank reinforcement counteracts burrowing.
3. Beaver removal: There may be times when beavers must be removed from a particular site. Environmental organisations, e.g. The Beaver Trust and Wildlife Trusts have trapped and relocated 100s of beavers. The Rivers Trust supports translocation, rather than lethal control, as a proportionate and effective method to control populations.

While there are many management options available, the key factor to successful delivery is funding. If there is to be wider reintroduction of beavers in the UK, Government must provide funding for management activities, taking advantage of opportunities to attract private finance.

Critically, policy action on beaver reintroduction must be backed-up by increased public education on the topic. Reintroductions should not be forced on communities that are highly opposed, but further effort is needed to raise awareness of the benefits of beavers and the management tools available.

What are we doing about the issue?

The Rivers Trust movement collaborates with other environmental organisations, public bodies, landowners, and local communities to increase public and political awareness around beaver reintroductions. We work closely with the Beaver Trust and draw on their expertise for guidance.

The Rivers Trust movement has been involved in many successful beaver reintroduction trials, contributing data and evidence on the topic:

• Norfolk Rivers Trust helped release a pair of beavers in partnership with Natural England, Environment Agency and others.

• Eden Rivers Trust has worked as part of the Cumbria Beaver Group to release two beavers into the Lowther Estate.

• Westcountry Rivers Trust has worked with Devon Wildlife Trust on their River Otter Beaver Trial to assess the impacts of beavers on river systems.

The Rivers Trust movement has experienced first-hand the positive impacts reintroductions have on the environment as well as community wellbeing and engagement. For example, the birth of Roo, the North Norfolk beaver pair’s first kit, gained widespread media interest and was a much-loved public engagement piece. The Rivers Trust is inspired by the way that charismatic animals such as beavers are a gateway for the public to engage with their rivers and learn about native biodiversity.

Along with our work on the ground, The Rivers Trust joins calls for the UK Government to pick up its plans to publish a Beaver Strategy. We continue to advocate for a Land Use Framework and properly funded Catchment Planning, which would support a more strategic approach to reintroductions. Beavers, with their ability to create complex ecosystems, could help us meet our national and international biodiversity targets, while also building our resilience to climate change.

To complement strategic beaver reintroductions, The Rivers Trust urges Government to drive forward, and fund, removals of artificial barriers in rivers (see our Barrier Removal Position Statement). Barrier removal would reduce overall impediments on migratory species as we move towards more naturalised river pathways.

This statement was authored by Kezia Saunders (The Rivers Trust) and informed by steering group discussions with Eva Edgeworth (Westcountry Rivers Trust), Dave Greaves (Eden Rivers Trust), Pete Kerr (Northumberland Rivers Trust), and Ursula Juta (Norfolk Rivers Trust), with comments from Laurence Couldrick (Westcountry Rivers Trust) and Arlin Rickard (Chief Policy Advisor, The Rivers Trust).