“My experience with beaver waters is that the fish tend to be around the lodges. Wherever you have woody debris you have aquatic invertebrates – aka fish food. Beaver are very willing to do the work of fisheries trust employees for free!” Duncan Pepper, Fishinguide Scotland
The history of beavers in Britain
Beavers once roamed across our countryside, shaping the landscape and waterways, providing habitat for a huge abundance of fish, birds and insects.
- Native to Britain – beavers once covered the northern hemisphere from North America to the Arctic Circle, including the whole of Britain.
- Hunted to extinction – beaver glands contain salicylic acid from their willow diet, which was prized as a medicinal cure-all. A single gland could equal a year’s wage for a mediaeval worker. Their fur is also extraordinarily soft and warm and in high demand for coats and hats.
- Evolving alongside salmon – fish and beavers evolved alongside each other for 40 million years.
- Part of human history – beaver pools provided early people with places to hunt, fish to eat, furs to wear and plants to harvest.
Mainstream – the return of the beaver
Beaver Trust’s first programme Mainstream is about making beavers a normal part of our waterscape once again. We encourage farmers, fisheries, foresters and communities to work together to restore river habitats using beavers.
Beaver wetlands bring benefits
- Clean water – beaver dams and ponds filter out pollutants such as agricultural chemicals.
- Captured carbon – beaver dams hold back silt that locks up carbon, while the huge amount of new plant growth also forms a carbon sink.
- Reduce flooding – beaver dams and pool systems slow the speed of water flowing through the system and prevent flooding downstream.
- Prevent drought – beaver pools hold water for use in periods of drought.
- Abundant nature – beaver pools provide nurseries for invertebrates, fish and amphibians; while clearings fill with wild flowers, attracting insects and birds.
Natural water engineering
Beavers are often called “engineers”. Think of all the manmade structures that correspond to beaver technology: dams, weirs, locks, canals. As we return to “natural engineering” to help us adapt to climate change, we can learn from these remarkable animals:
- Approved by experts – beavers are such capable ecosystem engineers that they have been proposed as a tool for implementing the EU Water Framework Directive.
- Our best solution – research by the Environment Agency suggests returning England’s waterways to a good ecological condition could generate £21 billion in benefits over 37 years. Beavers could play a part in helping us to achieve this.
- Huge cost savings – beavers know instinctively what to do and they are highly effective. It’s up to us to work out how to live alongside them and make the most of what they can do.
Healthy rivers mean healthy people
Beaver landscapes are special places – they feel truly wild, bursting with birdsong, the buzzing of insects, new plantlife and sunlight on water. This is good for nature and good for people too.
- Good for our mental health – by immersing ourselves in the unique landscapes beavers create, we can reconnect with nature, and improve our own health and well-being.
- Living alongside nature – we need to remember how to live better with nature if we are to farm, work and live sustainably in the future. Working with beavers can help us open our minds to a new way of collaborating with wildlife.
- Learning as we go – by collaborating with scientists, we will be able to monitor the hydrological, ecological and sociological impacts of beavers. And we will share this with young people in schools and universities. Our work will be open source and accessible to all.
