The NH ‘beaver trapping as a last resort’ law discussion yesterday generated all kinds of fallout. First the usual trolls who commented on the article that “Voices of Wildlife weren’t really conservationists because they were vegan” (?). Second, some local interest by a certain pro-beaver politician that I happen to know and made sure the article crossed his path. He thought it was pretty interesting and sent me the beavers in Marin article, whose author I then introduced him too. The two swapped strategies for reintroduction And kicked around that crazy legislation in NH. Beaver matchmaker! Nothing may happen but connections were made.
(It was my very best moment of 2017 so far, I can tell you.)
In other news this smart article came out yesterday, but I thought New Hampshire took precedence. It is by photographer Peter Cairns for the Rewildling Europe website.
The Scottish Highlands, an area covering around half of the country, is a rugged region of wild mountain and moorland and supports a population of just 350,000, or roughly 8 people per sq.km. With on-going depopulation of the more remote Highland areas, the fragility of some rural communities is ever-present. You might imagine therefore that rewilding, with all the ecological, social and economic benefits it can bring, would be seen as a platform for reinvention; a springboard for rural revitalisation; an opportunity to be grabbed by both hands. You’d be wrong and the tortuous debate over returning beavers to Scotland, offers a clue as to why.
Consider this list of countries: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Ukraine. Each of these nations – most much more crowded and industrialised than the Scottish Highlands – has got on with the research, got on with the trials and got on with returning beavers to their landscapes. Germany now has 30,000 beavers. France 15,000. Here in Scotland, after 20 years of debate and a £2m five-year trial, the Government has recently finally approved beavers as a native species and allowed those few animals that exist here to remain.
So why has it taken so long to get beavers back and why, in many circles, is rewilding viewed with such suspicion? Scotland with its near-natural river systems and chains of freshwater lochs is perfect for beavers and yet the process of restoring them has been laboured. The reason, in my view, has very little to do with beavers.
Whilst the ecological case for rewilding is beyond debate in a country that has been burned and bitten to a frail shadow of its former self, resistance to rewilding – and beavers – comes from the threat of change. People don’t like change; especially when that change is perceived to be forcefully imposed. The strong Highland traditions of deer stalking, grouse shooting and crofting have created a barren landscape, bereft of the biotic communities that once kept it alive. Many traditionalists would argue that this landscape should not only be conserved but celebrated; that the Highlands aren’t broken so why try fixing them?
This entrenched perspective is entrenched further by the notion that the “establishment” – those public sector academics and administrators who understand little of rural life – is forcing its will on communities that see no justification for change. The arrival of beavers is perceived as the tip of the iceberg and what next? Wolves? The media in its constant quest for conflict and sensationalism is quick to re-enforce that narrative and further alienate an already sceptical audience.
I’m always interested in the discussion of psychological motives behind beaver resistance but I actually think he’s making a 500 year old mistake here. He thinks resistance to the idea of beavers comes because they have been absent so long and people are afraid of change. Let me tell you, as woman who has researched beaver resistance fairly thoroughly for a decade, it has nothing to do with the amount of time they’ve been missing. People are afraid of beavers whether it’s been five minutes, five years, or five hundred years.
Trust me.
Beavers are now going about their watery business for the first time in 400 years and given time, will become part of Scotland’s landscape. For those of us wedded to the vision of a wilder Scotland with more life – human as well as non-human – we have to accept that change is never easy. Returning beavers to the wider Scottish landscape requires the winning of hearts and the unlocking of minds, showcasing successes and learning from mistakes. That can be a slow and frustrating process but further “dewilding” is surely not an option? We cannot carry on losing species and habitats, disrupting natural processes, contributing to an acceleration in climate change and hoping that the fortunes of fragile rural economies will miraculously turn around? The road ahead for the Scottish Highlands remains uncertain but without rewilding, that road will ultimately lead to a dead end.
I have tremendous respect for the rewildling movement and think it represents what is best about our wish to live a more natural life. But whether or not it has any hold on a nation I think beavers should be reintroduced to Scotland. Period. Lynx or no lynx. Beavers are more important than rewilding. In a world where clean water is a premium and biodiversity is on a constant downward spiral, beavers matter more than just about anything I can think of.
Except bees.
