Charities announce licence for beaver releases around Loch Ness
Trees for Life says NatureScot granted it and Beaver Trust a licence on 30 October to reintroduce beavers around Loch Ness. According to the charity’s announcement, the Ness Beaver Project will release at least 15 beaver family groups over the next three years, with the first releases potentially taking place as early as the following month. The animals will be relocated from elsewhere in Scotland.
Trees for Life applied for the licence after community discussions that the charity said revealed strong public support. Alan McDonnell, Trees for Life’s head of nature restoration, said: “There has been huge interest from communities and local businesses. Our engagement has been locally focused, with the team meeting people on the ground to listen to their views firsthand.”
Beavers were hunted to extinction in Scotland several hundred years ago and officially reintroduced in 2009. The last widely cited historical record of Scotland’s beavers, dating from 1526-27, places them around Loch Ness.
The project will release the animals in lochs, small lochs and rivers. Specific sites will be announced after the releases so the beavers can settle without disturbance.
According to Trees for Life, NatureScot identified the River Ness catchment, the area draining into the river, as one of Scotland’s most suitable areas for beavers in 2022. It has hundreds of kilometres of river and loch banks, extensive woodland and a low risk of affecting other land uses.
Trees for Life’s locally based beaver management officer and Beaver Trust staff will support community involvement through citizen science monitoring and educational events. They will also offer research opportunities and support for land managers. A monitoring and mitigation group will be established.
Trees for Life and Beaver Trust say beaver dams and canals can restore and reconnect rivers, wetlands and floodplains, supporting wildlife and helping manage the impacts of droughts, wildfires and flooding.
Source: Licence granted for historic return of beavers to waters around Loch Ness – 500 years after last sighting at world-famous loch - Trees for Life (treesforlife.org.uk). Spotted via Trees for Life Scotland.
Written by the HappyGood desk from the primary source linked above and checked against it. Every story links its source. Corrections: [email protected].
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