Mike Symes
Beavers
Beavers are back!
Beavers are amazing, capable of transforming our rivers and wetlands for the better. Devon Wildlife Trust has led beaver conservation projects in Devon for more than a decade. Our work on the River Otter Beaver Trial (England's first wild beaver re-introduction project), and the work of The Wildlife Trusts elsewhere, has shown that these natural engineers can provide an impressive range of services from storing climate-changing carbon to flood alleviation. We believe it’s a top priority for nature’s recovery to see their return to rivers across the UK and in February 2025, in a milestone decision, the government agreed.
- Allowing all wild beaver populations in England to remain and expand naturally. This includes beaver populations on the Rivers Tamar, Taw and Exe. Beavers on the River Otter already have licence to remain in the wild.
- More beavers will now be allowed under licence for Natural England and every release will need a ten year project plan detailing how beavers will be managed in the wild to reduce any potential conflicts.
This is great news but our work is not over.
