Good news for beavers in Wales! They’re getting closer to reintroduction. Count this as great news for dragonflies and salmon and otters and waterfowl too. Well here, I’ll let our good friend Peter Smith tell you. In addition to having the very best job on the planet, he’s an excellent spokesman!
Beavers’ return: Afon Rheidol river near Aberystwyth is preferred site
Plans to reintroduce beavers to the Welsh countryside after hundreds of years without them have moved a step closer.
The Afon Rheidol river in Ceredigion has been chosen as the location for their return next year. Should the move go ahead it could see beavers brought in from the UK and around Europe.
Of course there are the usual grumblings from farmers and fishermen but they seem to be facing a losing battle. The players have done everything right and the advocates have made the right friends. Fingers crossed, but it looks like after being missing for 400 years, beavers coming back to Wales! Can a Welsh beaver festival be far behind?
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Any news closer to home? I received this paper from Leonard Houston this morning. Its by Dr. Wayne Hoffman and the midcoast Watershed council. Hoffman is a name we’ve read over and over again this year, but we still haven’t connected. After I sip some coffee and read through this treasure I’m definitely introducing myself! In case you want to read this yourself, I’ve put a permanent link on the right hand margin under solutions. UPDATE from the small world files. Just heard from his colleague and co-author Fran Recht that she attended my presentation at the beaver conference this year and was inspired by the Martinez Beaver story!
Those interested in salmon and habitat restoration are express ing renewed interest in reestablishing beaver populations as inexpensive “watershed engineers”. In many places the type of work that beavers do improves conditions favorable to cohosalmon, cutthroat troutand other animals. Their dams also store water that help increase nutrient levels for other organisms in the stream, build up eroded streambeds, release water during the dry seasons, and improve water quality by slowing waters to allow sediment to settle, among other things. However, in Oregon, beavers have been considered a pest as well as a game animal so their protections are limited and their numbers have fluctuated dramatically over time due to a variety of factors.In the central Coast major declines in beaver ponds and dams have been documented in the past 2 decades. This background aper provides a summary of the benefits of beavers, their conflicts with humans, and the policies and conditions that affect their survival. It also provides examples of ways to reduce conflict with humans, and suggests needed legislative actions
