England’s first - and only - wild beaver re-introduction project has been running for five years. But the beavers now need your support one last time.

The government has now extended the River Otter Beaver Trial by six months while decisions are made about their long-term presence in East Devon - and potentially elsewhere in the country.

It's important the government has time to get this decision right. Because if beavers are given the green light, and allowed to thrive once again throughout the River Otter and beyond, it will be one of the most important moments in English conservation history.

The evidence shows the return of the beaver will benefit many other wild creatures and breathe new life into our waterways. This would be a desperately needed good news story for wildlife at a time of intense pressure on the natural world.

But until we can secure extra funding for the additional six months' of the Trial we need the help of beaver supporters one last time to raise at least £8,300 to ensure Devon Wildlife Trust's beaver conservation work can continue in coming weeks.

The beavers

The five-year River Otter Beaver Trial is the first project in England to introduce free-living beavers into a river catchment and monitor their impacts. It is due to end this month.

Thanks in part to donations from hundreds of beaver supporters, this charismatic mammal is again at home on an English river system. As many as 13 family groups of beavers are now present in East Devon's River Otter and its tributaries.

The evidence

Devon Wildlife Trust and the University of Exeter have worked with partners to produce the 132-page Science and Evidence Report, detailing all the findings of the Trial. We have also produced a Beaver Management Strategy Framework, setting out our recommendations for the successful management of beaver impacts beyond the Trial period.

We’ve carried out five years of research, we’ve monitored the beavers’ welfare, we’ve introduced additional animals to improve the genetic health of the breeding beaver population. We’ve worked alongside many farmers and landowners to successfully find solutions to any localised issues caused by beaver activity. And we’ve helped residents understand the benefits of having beavers on ‘their’ river.

Thanks to the support of people who care about wildlife, the River Otter Beaver Trial team has provided the government with all the evidence it needs to make a final decision on the future of beavers in Devon. Evidence that beaver activity will help reduce the impact of flooding, will help to improve water quality and breathe new life into our waterways.

Sounds like good news, right? All we need to do is wait for Defra and Natural England to give the green light to the beavers’ long-term return?

The delay

Unfortunately, Defra have informed us that they will be unable to take a decision on the future of the River Otter beavers until September 2020.

It is disappointing and frustrating after we’ve put in so much work – and many of you have given so generously – to complete the five-year Trial.

The final Science and Evidence Report represents the culmination of one of the most in-depth and rigorous research programmes ever undertaken to investigate the impacts of a native species reintroduction. The government now needs six months to make what we hope will be one of the most important decisions in English conservation history: the return of the beaver.

The future

It means Devon Wildlife Trust will need to continue our beaver monitoring and management work for another six months. As it is Defra who have enforced this extension to the Trial, we are currently in promising discussions around securing some government funding towards the costs of another half year of the River Otter Beaver Trial.

But we urgently need support to keep the team’s beaver conservation work going in the coming weeks, until we receive the hoped-for funding from Defra.

Please help us raise at least £8,300 to cover the costs of the River Otter Beaver Trial over the next few weeks. You’ll be playing a vital role in what should be the last stage of work required to ensure Devon's beavers are here to stay.





What has the River Otter Beaver Trial discovered?

In less than five years, the beaver population increased significantly from two family groups in 2015 to as many as 13 beaver territories by late 2019. This clearly demonstrates that the River Otter will be able to sustain a thriving beaver population.

At least one area dammed by beavers shows evidence of decrease in peak flows after heavy rain. Where a sequence of beaver dams was constructed upstream of a village with properties at risk of flooding, the dams reduced peak flow of water.

Beavers’ engineering of waterways has created and maintained new areas of wetland habitat, with clear benefits for amphibians, water voles and wetland birds.

The effect of beaver feeding on vegetation has increased biodiversity on a County Wildlife Site thanks to the changes in the scrub canopy.

Fisheries survey work on a stretch of the River Tale showed an area between two beaver dams had more abundant fish - including larger numbers of trout - than the areas further away from the dams.

The shallow, fast-flowing conditions created where a previous river dam had washed away provided good habitat for juvenile trout, which were present in large numbers.

Where beaver activity has resulted in elevated water levels on farmland, the installation of a flow device (known as a ‘beaver deceiver’) has reduced water levels successfully.

Monitoring of Environment Agency infrastructure on the river has recorded no negative beaver impacts.

Where beavers were recorded feeding on apple trees in a riverside orchard, pro-active measures to protect trees resolved the issue.

Questionnaires conducted in 2017 revealed that 86% of 2,741 people surveyed supported beaver re-introduction. By 2019 a repeat survey recorded an increase to 90% in favour.

Modelling the maximum number of beaver territories that the River Otter catchment could support gives a prediction of approximately 147 beaver territories

Routine checks of the health and physical condition of the beavers clearly shows they are healthy and thriving.

A cost-benefit analysis of beaver presence on the River Otter demonstrated that the ecosystem services and social benefits provided by beavers are significantly greater than any financial costs of managing beaver activity.

How your gift will help

The River Otter Beaver Trial team will be out in all weathers in the coming weeks, monitoring beaver activity and welfare and working alongside landowners to resolve any localised issues caused by beavers' damming or feeding activities. The team will also be disseminating the findings from the 132-page Science and Evidence Report that provides all the evidence the government needs to make a decision on the future of Devon's beavers.

Please help the River Otter beavers one last time before the Trial ends!

You can help secure the future of the River Otter beavers by supporting this Crowdfunder to ensure DWT’s beaver conservation work can continue until we receive the hoped-for government funding.

Thank you from Devon's wild beavers!