I know we’re all focused on the national election today, but it’s a good idea to take a broader view and think about what’s happening beyond our unwalled borders. Beavers are in the BBC again. That’s happened enough lately that I’m starting to wonder if he initials stand for “British Beaver Conservation“.
Beavers return to Essex after 400 years to stop floods
A breeding pair of Eurasian beavers will be rehomed at Spains Hall Estate, near Finchingfield, Braintree, to help flood prevention.
The animals will have a four-hectare territory fenced off to keep them safe.
Beavers have not been seen in the county for four centuries but have been reintroduced in other parts of the country. The Environment Agency hopes the dam-making mammals will increase biodiversity in the area as well as control the flow of water.
A second element of the project will involve man-made flood management measures. The Environment Agency’s Matt Butcher said: “The beavers bring another exciting dimension, as we can assess how effective they are at creating amazing new wetlands and as flood engineers.”
Spains Hall owner Archie Ruggles-Brise said he was excited to welcome the beavers to the estate, home to his family for 250 years. He said: “We have experienced first-hand the disruption caused by flooding in Finchingfield so we are excited to be able to contribute to this novel approach to reducing flood risk, an undeniable public good.
We first read about Archie’s plan back in April of this year and I said I was so impressed I said I wasn’t even going to make fun of his name (which still sounds made up.) It’s kind of amazing the whole thing is getting off the ground so quickly! What a smart thing to use those massive grounds for. The estate was listed in the doomsday book and deserves to be on the forefront of beaver reintroduction. Congratulations, Archie!
Meanwhile, 300 miles away some other beavers are getting themselves talked about as well. This time for their resplendent photogenics.
Stunning Devon nature photos, including beaver and kits, highlight our wildlife
A stunning photo of a mother beaver and her kits in a Devon river has been highly commended in this year’s British Wildlife Photography Awards.
The image capture the recently reintroduced animals enjoying their willow bark supper. It was taken by acclaimed wildlife photographer Matthew Maran, who had been lying in wait along the grassy banks of the River Otter near Budleigh Salterton to capture the behaviour of the beavers for a wildlife prospectus commissioned by landowner Clinton Devon Estates.
That’s surely a great photo, although I wouldn’t call it “stunning”. It takes a lot to “stun” Martinez, who saw things like this every morning most days for nearly a decade. In fact the warehouse where all the county’s ballots are counted was right 
beside the creek where our beavers lived. I remember one night in particular, when ballot officials, reporters, and county workers were all gathered around the spot lit cement building where the votes are tallied, one exhausted official stepped outside for a cigarette on the creek bank.
Which our original mom beaver just happened to be climbing up for a particular white flower she had grown fond of eating. Let’s just say they were BOTH surprised! Democracy and beavers!
Now that mom posed for some stunning photos.
Sigh.
And finally some encouragement, posted on FB by reader Sheri Hartstein. Because beavers know that just because things are difficult doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do them.
From our friends at Beaver believers:
And now in honor of our favorite new meme:
Beavers hadn’t been seen in Britain for around 400 years after they were wiped out by hunters who prized the animals for fur, meat and glandular oil, which was used as a treatment for headaches. Now they are returning, thanks to a handful of pilot projects in England and Scotland that have reintroduced colonies into the countryside. Scientists say the small number of beavers has already transformed the local landscapes and changed the flow of water, which has cut down on flooding and created new habitats for a wide array of plants, insects and birds.
Today, there are about 26 beavers in the colony and their presence has led to the creation of a marsh area filled with wild flowers, water beetles, frogs, herons, kingfishers, grass snakes, bats and a host of insects. The dozen or so beaver dams have also controlled the water flow and helped filter out phosphates and excessive fertilizer.
That’s because in small streams, they create dams, which in turn create ponds. (Eurasian beavers only do this in smaller streams, so that they have deep water. In bigger rivers, they don’t need to. 
for things that eat frogspawn. The height of vegetation has increased. The number of bat species has increased because there are loads more insects for them to feed on.”
Himalayan balsam and nettles dominated the river bank while, on the landward side, clover leys spread as far as the low embankment that once carried the railway. Prominent official signs warned that “Beavers live here” and Kate explained that there had been some local problems with dogs.
These are, however, early days and, as the number of beavers continues to rise, their presence in this managed East Devon landscape may cause tensions. There is good evidence from Bavaria, where the animals were re-introduced 50 years ago, that beavers can have a beneficial influence on rivers. They support wildlife by opening up the landscape, creating coppice and diversifying the wetland habitat. Their dams regulate river flows and remove sediment and pollutants. Sometimes, however, they can be a nuisance to those who live and work by rivers, causing flooding, blocking ditches, undermining river banks and felling important trees. There are now as many as 20,000 beavers on Bavaria’s rivers and their beneficial effects are clearly recognised alongside the need to manage the animals when their activity has a negative impact. Hopefully, a similar resolution can be reached for the East Devon beavers as their population grows. Whatever the outcome, the River Otter Beaver Trial will be closely watched by those interested in “rewilding” the landscape.
