August 12th is a prodigious day. It’s the day that in 1957 in the little naval hospital of Portsmouth England, Jon Ridler was born. In case the name sounds familiar he is the treasurer of Worth A Dam, the man of 100 tasks at the beaver festival including beaver tours, and my husband of lo, these many years. Happy Birthday Jon!
Jon was educated in England and enjoyed the life of a navy dental surgeon’s son living for a while in Malaysia, Gibraltar and some other places the sun never sets. His home base was always boarding school in Truro England though, down the peninsula of Cornwall near by where his grandfather retired, and oh by the way where some beavers were introduced after 400 years.
I mention this because Jon became an American citizen recently (because of all the winning obviously) and clearly England is so proud of their native son that they celebrated by making recently granting the Devon beavers legal status. Devon is at the top of Cornwall and about 100 miles away from where jon spent the vast majority of his early life. When the pilgrims sailed for America they boldly left from Plymouth which is the very tippy toes of Cornwall. Now beavers have been given a toe-hold.
Beaver families win legal ‘right to remain’
Fifteen families of beavers have been given the permanent “right to remain” on the River Otter in East Devon. The decision was made by the government following a five-year study by the Devon Wildlife Trust into beavers’ impact on the local environment.
The Trust called it “the most ground-breaking government decision for England’s wildlife for a generation”. It’s the first time an extinct native mammal has been given government backing to be reintroduced in England.
Environment minister Rebecca Pow said that in the future they could be considered a “public good” and farmers and landowners would be paid to have them on their land.
Beavers have the power to change entire landscapes. They feel safer in deep water, so have become master makers of dams and pools.
The River Otter beaver trial showed that the animals’ skill replenished and enhanced the ecology of the river catchment in East Devon.
They increased the “fish biomass”, and improved the water quality. This meant more food for otters – beavers are herbivores – and clearer and cleaner water in which kingfishers could flourish.
Their dams worked as natural flood-defences, helping to reduce the risk of homes flooding downstream.
Yes they do! Whoo whoo. There have been a few MILLION headlines about this story but I thought it could wait until Jon’s birthday, for obvious reasons.
The evidence gathered by researchers during the trial helped the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to make what it called its “pioneering” decision to give the beavers the right to live, roam, and reproduce on the river.
Beavers were hunted to extinction 400 years ago for their meat, furry water-resistant pelts, and a substance they secrete called castoreum, used in food, medicine and perfume.
In 2013 video evidence emerged of a beaver with young on the River Otter, near Ottery St Mary. It was the conclusive proof of the first wild breeding beaver population in England.
It was a mystery how they came to be there. Some suspect that the creatures were illegally released by wildlife activists who, on social media, are called “beaver bombers”.
The beavers faced being removed. However, the Devon Wildlife Trust, working with the University of Exeter, Clinton Devon Estates, and the Derek Gow Consultancy, won a five-year licence to study it.
Now there are at least 50 adults and kits on the river – and they are there to stay.
Peter Burgess, director of conservation at DWT, said: “This is the most ground-breaking government decision for England’s wildlife for a generation. Beavers are nature’s engineers and have the unrivalled ability to breathe new life into our rivers.
Congratulations Devon! And beavers all over England that definitely got one webbed paw in the door! And congratulations to Jon who I have loved for 39 years and who made all this crazy beaver madness possible. Wait until I show you his awesome present tomorrow.
