Wild beavers reduce flood risk and boost wildlife, study finds

Beavers living wild on an English river have reduced the risk of flooding for local people and boosted wildlife, a five-year trial has found.

The aquatic mammals living on the River Otter in Devon have caused some localised problems for several landowners, but these could be addressed successfully with “active management”, the study said.

Other wildlife, including fish, water voles, amphibians and birds, have benefited from the presence of the beavers living on the river and creating new habitat.

The findings are the culmination of a five-year study of the first licensed release of beavers into the wild in England since they were hunted to extinction more than 400 years ago.

It found the wild beavers on the south Devon river provided more benefits to people and the landscape than the costs they caused.

Good lord. Who among us could make the same claim. Have YOU ever solved more problems than you caused? Have I? Well I guess England is a mean judge of character. Because they’re backing this claim up with data.

Research by the team of scientists, overseen by Professor Richard Brazier from the University of Exeter, found they are providing benefits to people, including in the flood-prone community of East Budleigh.

Beavers have constructed six dams upstream of the village, which have measurably and significantly reduced peak flood flows through the community, the report said.

Evidence from another trial in north Devon, where beavers in an enclosure have built 13 dams and ponds, shows they also play a role in filtering soil, manure, slurry and fertilisers from farmland.

Despite concerns that beaver dams might affect fish populations, the research found that in the pools created by damming the streams there were 37% more fish than in comparable stretches of the river with no dams.

Get the hell out! 37% More fish in beaver ponds? It’s almost like putting a percent sign next to an actual fact makes it sound MORE true. (4 out of 5 dentists recommend sugarless gum for their patients who chew gum sort of thing). There are more fish in beaver ponds. 37% more. We counted and did the stats. Now do you believe us?

Devon Wildlife Trust’s Mark Elliott, who leads the River Otter Beaver Trial, said “I think we’ve all been surprised by these amazing animals’ ability to thrive, once again, in our wetland ecosystems.

“It also shows their unrivaled capacity to breathe new life into our rivers and wetlands, very few of which are in good health.”

Unrivaled the right word, Mark. What they do has never been done by anyone else. Nobody does it better. No one else even comes close. Let beavers do their jobs and if you want to count up those jobs on your little clipboards go right ahead.

Excuse me. I feel a song coming on.

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Time for some serious beaver reporting. I feel like it’s been a while since we sliced through real information but this article from ajb at “The rugged Indivualist” offers some great perspective. It even brings a metaphor about beavers Ben Goldfarb missed. And that’s saying something.

Nature’s Underappreciated Ecosystem Architect

I was inspired to write this article when I took a walk along the river at the back of my property, through the domain of a woodland theriomorph. A mysterious shapeshifter, not of himself, but rather of land and water, wedding the two in a harmonious embrace. He is simultaneously a sculptor in soft earth and an architect of raw timber, masterfully designing and crafting his surroundings into a vision of his own. He creates a product that is naturally arresting by virtue of the tireless dedication, pragmatism, and ingenuity involved. His intuition is preternatural, creating opportunity with nothing but physical refinement and acute mental faculties.

Now I would argue that he probably had a little help being inspired by reading Ben’s book to get to this place, which he does not admit to but from which he posts photos from of Susie Creek’s grand transformation. There’s no time to quibble because its wonderful to read well written appreciation of our favorite subject.

Many would be surprised to realize that beavers, in the same family as mice and squirrels, create rich, biodiverse habitats unrivaled by any other creature on our planet. Beavers don’t just make themselves homes and blockade rivers; they create sanctuary for everything from tiny invertebrates up to our most iconic species such as deer, moose, and bear. In fact, the effects of their actions are so great that much contemporary research and thought revolves around these creatures being indispensable buffers in a world becoming ever more variable and inhospitable by the climate change we’ve manufactured.

An excellent start. Go on…

Where does one begin in their adulation of the almighty beaver? Well, let’s start with the most impressive thing that they do: create wetlands. Let me say that again: beavers create wetlands. A species consciously capable of changing the land’s form and function. This environment is rarely even created by the invisible grace of Mother Nature, making it even more impressive that it is frequently accomplished by a woolly rodent. But beavers, well, they make it look easy when they siphon water to make moats around their stick castles with ease. Whether wet climate or dry, beavers use the existing water in their environment to create hydro engineering marvels. Take a look at the pictures below of an area in the arid southwest of landscape before and after beaver introduction. You will be stunned by its transformation into an oasis.

You have all our attention. Consider this your chance to ‘preach to the choir’.

By constructing a dam and reducing the flow of waterways, beavers are able to collect and disperse water over a large surface area which heavily saturates the underlying soil, raising the water table in effect. This slowed water creates a pond of still or slightly flowing water that allows aquatic plants to take hold below and above the surface with shrubby vegetation establishing itself along the water’s edge. This leads to an overall richness of habitat complexity that draws in and supports burgeoning levels of biodiversity from birds to mammals and everything in between. This is the general process by which these beavers establish a wetland. But, the benefits to the environment are not over.

When beavers create their pond ecosystems, the newly formed body of water penetrates deep into the soil. This water leaches into underwater aquifers and recharges what is many times a parched groundwater supply. A benefit that many perennially dehydrated parts of this country could desperately use. Additionally, beaver dam impoundments help decontaminate water sources by reducing siltation and filtering out impurities. That’s right, beavers even make our most precious resource clearer and cleaner. So, not only do beavers alter hydrodynamics within the ecosystem to create new opportunities for flora and fauna, but they also make the environment more resilient by allowing for greater storage and spread of filtered water supplies. To put it simply, beavers fundamentally change the capacities of the land around them. They make an environment that can absorb increasingly unpredictable amounts of precipitation that prevents destructive run-off and flooding, while also preserving water when it is scarce. This is a major reason beavers are such powerful agents in preventing catastrophic effects from climate change.

Yup, Yup and yup. Beavers change things for the better. And they would do it a helluva a lot more often if we would just stop killing them. We sing that song every day. Anything else to add?

the work of beavers help keep our landscape and resources in equilibrium. It is now time to restore this competent creature back to its rightful place and allow them to clean up a mess we cannot contain.

Hear Hear! I’ll drink to that! And I bet you all will also! It’s like watching a great stadium wave across the nation, seeing other folk get the point of Ben’s gilded prose and appreciate what’s right in front of them. Sometimes I wish the wave went faster, or bigger, but I’m always grateful for it.

Monday night Radio1 in the UK had their own discussion of beavers which I’m sure you’ll enjoy.