KNOWLEDGE BASE

This report summarised Natural England's position on how the future of beaver reintroductions in England should proceed, recommending a measured pace of releases prioritised in locations which maximise benefits and minimise risks. This position is justified in detail, alongside a host of other management, funding, and legal recommendations. This measured pace was supported because it would give people time to get used to living alongside beavers, and give practitioners time to learn how to manage their negative impacts. Annex B also described the beaver management approaches of many other countries.

Combining data on beaver sightings, enclosures, and releases from Natural England and the Environment Agency, this text described the modern return of the Eurasian beaver to England after centuries of absence. This included the early story of a pair of beavers on the River Axe in the mid-1980s who possibly escaped from a nearby wildlife park. Overall, this report provided a brief (modern) history of beavers in England and an assessment on where those beavers - both captive and free - could be found in the country.

Beavers rely on both land and water for food, shelter, and safety. By using technologies which can recreate beavers' movements in 3D space, scientists were able to gather data on where, when, and under what conditions beavers dive in the water! By doing so, we learned that these beavers in Norway prefer diving near the riverbank and near aquatic plants like quillwort and shoreweed. Dives occurred more often at night. Some differences between dominant and subordinate beavers were also observed.

This study compared how quickly native Eurasian beavers and non-native North American beavers expanded their range in Finland. They found that the Eurasian beaver spread more slowly. However, the reasons which the researchers tested - geographical barriers to movement such as dams and watershed divides, and a lack of quality habitat - did not explain this finding. The native species' slower spread seemed linked to non-geographical factors like behaviour, warranting further study.

Process-based restoration of rivers allows ecosystems to recover naturally. This paper proposes four criteria to enable people to assess if a restoration project aligns with this approach. The criteria relate to: restoring natural processes and connectivity, using natural energy, using native materials, and considering time and adaptive management for long-term recovery. Beavers and their dams are cited throughout as examples of natural allies in this type of restoration work, given that they use natural energy, local materials, and are good at increasing habitat connectivity.