Scotland wild beaver reintroduction trial 'an outstanding success'

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/may/14/scotland-wild-beaver-reintroduced-knapdale

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The reintroduction of beavers to the wild in Scotland for the first time in 400 years has been an "outstanding success", according to the team of ecologists that brought them back.

The four pairs of beavers reintroduced in Knapdale five years ago have produced 14 young, engineered 18-metre-long dams and lodges the size of double garages and significantly boosted tourism.

Monitoring of the UK's first ever licenced mammal reintroduction programme finishes at the end of May, after five years evaluating the impact of the species on the local environment and the potential to attract tourism. The results will be presented to Holyrood, which will make a decision on the future of beavers in Scotland next year.

Simon Jones, project manager of the Scottish Beaver Trial, said the project had been an "outstanding success" that provided an opportunity to study the ecology and biology of an animal that has not been seen in Scotland for more than 400 years.

"In terms of asking 'can beavers live in the wild in Scotland and can they breed' then the answer is yes. We're extremely happy about how the trial has gone but now it's for the government to decide whether we want to have a wider beaver population in Scotland," he said.

The trial, conducted by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, the Scottish Wildlife Trust and Forestry Commission Scotland, released 16 Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber) in four family groups between May 2009 and September 2010 into three lochs in the Knapdale forest, west of Lochgilphead, in Argyll.

After a challenging start, the first beaver kit was born in 2010 and the latest count shows there are now 13 animals living around lochs Coille Bharr, Buic, Creagh Mhor and Linne.

"Numbers of young are probably slightly below average but we know that three out of the four families have bred and we've had kits from the first spring of the trial until now. We're comfortable with the range of animals that have been born and the condition that they're in," Jones said.

Examining the environmental impact of the beavers on biodiversity, forestry, the landscape and hydrology, researchers found that the animals had transformed the landscape, constructing dams, felling trees, creating canals and building lodges.

The largest dam built during the trial – 18m long and 1.6m high – was on the Dubh Loch, while the largest lodge measured 7.78m long, 2.14m high and 11.29m wide – around the same size as a double garage.

"There were no surprises in terms of what we know from beavers in other parts of Europe," Jones said. "At a landscape scale with healthy populations, beavers can have many positive impacts – they can even play some kind of role in the control of water in our countryside. But occasionally they can do things we don't want them to do – felling trees, digging burrows and building dams – so it's a species that requires careful management as well."

Beavers were once widespread in the UK but were hunted to extinction by the 16th century for their fur, medicinal value and meat. They are known as a "keystone species" because of the effect they have on their surrounding environment.

Incredible engineers, their dams, burrows and ditches and the branches they drag into the water create habitats for a host of other species including otters, dragonflies and waterfowl. Their dams slow rivers down, reducing scouring and erosion, and improve water quality by holding back silt. During the wet weather and flooding crisis earlier this year, naturalists called for the reintroduction of beavers to control floods.

The reintroduced beavers attracted many visitors to the area, who took part in guided walks through the forest and visited the purpose-built information centre and viewing platform. More than 31,000 people engaged with the walks, talks, events and education sessions, the project's figures show, and some 5,343 children and 2,092 adults engaged with the formal education programmes, with more than 200 schools and colleges visiting Knapdale.

The potential socioeconomic benefits to the local economy from ecotourism will be assessed during the next reporting stage of the project. "The beavers have undoubtedly had a positive impact," Jones said. "Local businesses tell us that the beaver trial has been a draw for tourism to the area, that beavers are important and they wish them to remain."

Last month a YouGov poll found that 60% of Scots backed the reintroduction of beavers and only 5% were opposed. Support was higher, at 74%, among those people already aware of the issue.

But farmers and landowners have expressed concern about the impact of the species on rural businesses after reports of "significant impacts on agricultural land" in areas of Tayside where a colony of around 150 beavers has become established. It is not known whether these animals escaped from captivity or were released illegally.

Developments will be closely watched by naturalists in southern England and Wales, where proposals to reintroduce the beaver are also being developed.