Beavers to be released to boost wildlife and fight flooding
THE NATIONAL Trust has announced it will be releasing beavers into large enclosures at two sites in the south of England in the spring to boost wildlife and help combat flooding.
The schemes, which have been given the go-ahead by Government conservation agency Natural England, will see two pairs of beavers each released into a separate enclosure at Holnicote, Somerset.
A third pair will be released into a fenced enclosure at Valewood
on the Black Down Estate, on the edge of the South Downs in West Sussex.
Beavers were once native in Britain but were hunted to extinction in the 16th century, though they have made a return to some parts of the country, including Yorkshire.
A pair of Eurasian beavers were introduced to Cropton Forest on the North York Moors earlier this year by Forestry England. It is part of a five-year project to see if the beavers maintain dams and boost biodiversity as well as being the first time the effect beavers have on artificial dams has been studied.
Speaking at the time the beavers were released, ecologist Cath Bashforth described them as “natural habitat engineers”.
“They restore complex wetland habitats and provide habitat for declining species whilst slowing the flow of water downstream,” she explained.
The pair, which live in a ten hectare enclosure, welcomed two new additions in July when their first kits was born.
Beavers have also been introduced in Scotland and a small number on the River Otter in Devon.
This is the first time the National Trust has released beavers on to its land, and it hopes the pairs at the two sites will help create a thriving habitat and increase the range of species and wildlife numbers.
It is also hoped they will help make the landscape more resilient to the extremes of climate change, storing water in dry times and reducing the rising risk of flooding.
Ben Eardley, project manager for the National Trust at Holnicote, said: “Our aim is that the beavers become an important part of the ecology at Holnicote, developing natural processes and contributing to the health and richness of wildlife in the area. It is a sustainable way to help make our landscape more resilient to climate change.”