Gloucestershire Surveys Sites for Beaver Reintroduction — SkimNews
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- Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust and Forestry England are surveying parts of the county to assess their suitability for a new beaver reintroduction in the Severn Vale, which would require a government licence from Defra.
- Emily Bowen of the Beaver Trust called beavers a "keystone species" and "ecosystem engineers," saying they reshape land to boost biodiversity and increase climate resilience.
- Defra said reintroducing beavers "has the potential to make a huge difference to nature recovery" and pledged to continue supporting partners on the returns.
- Beavers have not been a regular presence in the west of England for around 400 years, after hunting for food and medical ingredients drove their numbers down.
- The Forest of Dean's Greathough Brook has hosted beavers since 2018, and Forestry England's Kate Wollen said surveys have shown a dramatic biodiversity increase, with stoats, weasels and pine martens drawn to the new habitat.
- Mega Adamou of Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust said the trust is consulting landowners and land users before any release and is prioritising close work with people who live in or work the affected areas.
- England has recorded three licensed beaver releases to date, with about 100 animals expected to be released this year.
Why it matters: Beavers are a native species functionally absent from western England for roughly four centuries, and the Gloucestershire push would add to a small but accelerating licensed reintroduction programme — three releases on record so far and roughly 100 beavers expected this year — using a single animal's engineering to create wetlands that benefit drought resilience, biodiversity and flood management in the same landscapes.
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