Such a strategy would provide a roadmap for a future where:

• There are more beavers in many more catchments
• Beaver populations are healthy and thriving
• Management frameworks are agreed which provide support for farmers, landowners and river users
• Beaver impacts and their population health are scientifically monitored

The Wildlife Trusts and its partners believe that beavers should be an integral part of a green recovery. The impressive and ever-growing body of independent scientific evidence reveals the vast array of benefits that beavers can bring to society by working with nature. These include:

• Improved water quality: Beaver dams slow and filter water, causing sediment and nutrients to be deposited in ponds. This improves the quality of water flowing from sites where beavers are present.
• Land holds more water: The dams, ponds and channels created by beavers increase capacity of land to store water and produce a more consistent outflow below their dams. This can result in less water being released during heavy rainfall (reducing flooding downstream) and more water availability during times of drought.
• Carbon is captured: Beaver wetlands capture carbon, locked up in dams, and boggy vegetation and wet woodlands which are restored.
• More wildlife: Beavers create diverse wetland habitats that can provide a home for a wide range of wildlife, especially aquatic invertebrates which act as a food source for other species.
• People engaged with wildlife: People are fascinated by beavers. The presence of beavers in an area provides an opportunity for people to engage with wildlife, as well as creating a market for nature tourism.

Beavers create thriving ecosystems helping us to put nature firmly back on the road to recovery.  And they do all this for free.

By working alongside farmers, landowners, river users and local communities wildlife trusts have learnt that management is essential if we are to maximise the benefits that beavers provide.  Trusts now have a range of carefully honed techniques which can help them do this, which help avoid or minimise any localised negative impacts which might occur.

Nationally, the Wildlife Trusts are also calling on the government to provide farmers and landowners with financial support to make space for water and beavers on their land. This will reward those who give up some of their land to benefit communities downstream, which will benefit from lower flood or drought risk and higher water quality.

Craig Bennett, CEO of The Wildlife Trusts, says: “Beavers are proving just what a valuable force they can be in helping to solve the nature and climate crises. Their extraordinary ability to naturalise landscapes, improving them for other wildlife, enhancing water quality and controlling water flow makes them a vital component of a modern approach to land management. People love beavers and their presence has really boosted tourism in the places where they’ve been reintroduced.

“Now it is time to look forward and set out an ambitious vision for the return of these animals.  But this must be done properly and thoughtfully, with the right support systems in place. That’s why it is so important that the government publishes its beaver strategy soon.”   

In this Region, Mike Pratt, CEO of Northumberland Wildlife Trust, says: “Whist Northumberland Wildlife Trust doesn’t have any suitable reserves for beaver reintroduction yet, we are already working in partnership with those who have suitable land and sites to make this happen, in order to help restore to full function local ecosystems in Northumberland as we very much support the use of beavers in this way.”

Professor Richard Brazier, University of Exeter, chair of the Science and Evidence Forum that published the River Otter Beaver Trial Report, says: “Our detailed research programmes have concluded that the positive impacts of beavers outweighed the negatives. A summary of the quantifiable cost and benefits of beaver reintroduction in the River Otter in Devon demonstrates that the ecosystem services and social benefits accrued are greater than the financial costs incurred.”

Now, wildlife lovers in the region have their chance to show their support for the return of beavers and have the opportunity to input into a new beaver strategy which will be presented to the government at a later date. Visit  wtru.st/act-for-beavers to find out why nature’s engineers are worth celebrating.