Eurasian beaver reintroduction
The Eurasian beaver has been the successful subject of a century of official and unapproved species reintroduction programs in Europe and Asia.
[2] Eight relict populations survived,[3] according to IUCN, in Belarus, China, France, Germany, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Mongolia, Norway and Russia.
[4] Presence of beavers can improve water quality through sediment trapping in dams, and provide natural flood control.
[9] Deep beaver ponds provide overwintering habitat for fish, reduce ice cover, and stabilize temperature regimes.
Attempting to understand these reactions is important for managing organizations to aid in coexistence between humans and beavers, and population success.
[14] By 2020, due to government-approved and unofficial reintroductions, as well as protection programs and consequent natural migration, there were at least 1.5 million beavers in Europe.
[17] Successful government-approved introductions began in Sweden in 1922, followed later in the 1920s by Norway and the USSR in Russia (both of which had remnant populations) as well as in Latvia.
[16] In 1988, Netherlands began reintroduction, followed by Czech Republic (1991), China (1992 - translocation from a Chinese native population) Slovakia (1995), and Croatia (1996), Belgium (1998), Romania (1998) and Denmark (1999).
Regional government plans to remove the animals met criticism from conservation groups arguing the Eurasian beaver is native to Spain with a fossil history of 1.4 million years and historical references until around 1583.
By 2020, beavers had colonised the Ebro in La Rioja, Navarre, and Zaragoza; the Zadorra river up to Vitoria-Gasteiz, the Arga up to Pamplona, the Huerva up to Mezalocha, and the Jalón into the province of Soria.
[24] In 2022, researchers published a feasibility study on the reintroduction of beavers to areas of Greece bordering Albania, North Macedonia and Bulgaria.
[28] One beaver was trapped by Scottish Natural Heritage on the River Ericht in Blairgowrie, Perthshire, in early December 2010, and was held in captivity in the Edinburgh Zoo.
In March 2012 the Scottish Government reversed the decision to remove beavers from the Tay, pending the outcome of studies into the suitability of reintroduction.
A sport-fishing industry lobbyist group, the Angling Trust, said, "it would be irresponsible even to consider reintroducing this species into the wild without first restoring our rivers to good health.
"[43] On 28 January 2015, Natural England declared that the beavers would be allowed to remain on condition that they were free of disease and of Eurasian descent.
On 24 June 2015, video footage from local filmmaker Tom Buckley was featured on the BBC news website showing one of the wild Devon females with two live young.
The resulting reports were published in 2012 with the launch of the Welsh Beaver Project, which is a partnership led by the Wildlife in Wales, and are downloadable from www.welshbeaverproject.org.
[48] In 2019, a pair of beavers was reintroduced to North Essex as part of a pioneering natural flood management scheme for East Anglia.
[52] In 2007, a specially selected group of four Bavarian beavers was released into a fenced enclosure in the Martin Mere nature reserve in Lancashire.
[53] The beavers hopefully will form a permanent colony, and the younger pair will be transferred to another location when the adults begin breeding again.
[57] In July 2018 two Eurasian beavers were released into a fenced area 6.5 hectares (16 acres) in size surrounding Greathough Brook near Lydbrook in the Forest of Dean.
The UK Government hopes that the presence of the beavers on Forestry Commission land will help to alleviate flooding in a natural way as the animals will construct dams and ponds, slowing the flow of water in the area.
[58] The then Environment Secretary Michael Gove, who attended the release, said: The beaver has a special place in English heritage and the Forest of Dean.
This release is a fantastic opportunity to develop our understanding of the potential impacts of reintroductions and help this iconic species, 400 years after it was driven to extinction.
