Beaver Reintroduction

We are considering reintroducing beavers to Ennerdale, find out more below.
(Beaver Image © Wild Intrigue)

Our Vision

Led by the Wild Ennerdale vision to restore missing natural processes, we are considering reintroducing beavers. The Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) is a well-studied species capable of increasing biodiversity and contributing to flood and drought resilience and water quality improvements through its natural activities.

Our vision is to see free living beavers reintroduced to the length of the River Ehen, from mountains to sea.

 

Our Original Proposal

As a first step, we proposed to host some beaver family groups in the (partially enclosed) upper valley, east of Ennerdale Water. We hoped this would start a 3 to 5-year public engagement period during which we would engage with local landowners and communities to share and build up knowledge and experience with beavers living in the landscape. At the end of this period, we would have held a formal consultation to see if the local community supported the vision for beavers to have access to the full length of the River Ehen. As a partnership we wanted to see beavers having full freedom to explore unhindered and were not proposing a permanent enclosed release.

We commissioned an independent expert-led ecology feasibility study, which was completed in 2020. It reported that the valley would be suitable for a multi-family beaver release.

A demonstration beaver barrier was installed on part of the Irish Bridge across the River Liza just east of the lake. Examples of beaver enclosure fencing were installed nearby.

Beaver Public Engagement

Our engagement process began in 2019 when we spoke with those living and working in the valley. Over Winter and Spring 2021-2022 the Wild Ennerdale partners supported by Heather Devey from Wild Intrigue have held 4 online Zoom presentations, 4 in person drop in events in Ennerdale Bridge, Cleator, Egremont and Whitehaven, 2 in valley visits and presented the proposals to 3 local societies/groups. Additionally, partner representatives attended a public meeting of the Ennerdale and Kinniside Parish Council.

Across these events we have presented our proposals to over 300 people. In addition, our social media beaver posts had a reach of over 30,000 which prompted 1,400 engagements and over 1,000 views of our beaver presentation and introduction.

To continue to explore plans for beaver re-introduction in Ennerdale, Forestry England appointed a species reintroduction project officer in January 2023, whose remit will focus on the potential for beaver and other species across Forestry England landholdings in Ennerdale and the wider Lake District.

 

Engagement Outcomes

We have been processing the feedback we have received so far and identified a major obstacle to our plans for a partially-enclosed beaver release.

The proposed barrier across the River Liza would need a 100mm bar spacing to securely keep beavers in. Bar spacing would need to be twice this width to avoid deterring salmon and trout which migrate to spawning grounds in the tributaries of the River Liza. The Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act prohibits any activities that may impact fish movements. While we are disappointed with this set-back, we acknowledge that restricting other natural processes, to bring beavers into the valley, would be contrary to the ethos of Wild Ennerdale. For now, we are unable to proceed with the development of a licence application for the release of beavers into a partial enclosure.

Free-living beavers have always been the long-term ambition for our beaver project and a release directly into the wild may be an alternative option for Ennerdale. The government is currently considering its approach to wild releases in England and we await clarity on this. This option has additional complexities. It requires further feasibility work to consider the wider implications of free-living beavers. This will help inform whether we apply to release free-living beavers if this option becomes available. There will be opportunities for feedback and discussion, with an emphasis on impacts for local landowners.


Contacts

If you have any comments or concerns about this change in direction, please contact Hayley Dauben, Species Reintroduction Project Officer at hayley.dauben@forestryengland.uk or 07425 732513.

More about our Proposal

Why Introduce beavers ?
Beaver created wetland © Roisin Campbell-Palmer

For nature: The role of beavers as ecosystem engineers is well documented. Although Wild Ennerdale has been operating for nearly 20 years, the riparian and valley bottom habitats have potential for significant further restoration. Like our free-roaming cattle, beavers would bring disturbance which stimulates new and uneven opportunities for growth and regeneration. We expect beavers to bring significant increased species diversity and abundance through their dynamic wetland creation and changes to the structure of vegetation around them.

More open water, pond and wetland habitats - It is hoped that beaver dams may further complement the natural formation of rich marshy grassland, wet woodland and mire habitats by adopting these existing habitats and/or creating new habitats along the tributaries and drains which flow across the low-gradient fields and floodplains.

More standing and fallen deadwood habitat - It is hoped that beaver dams will flood some existing stands of trees creating more standing deadwood. Beavers may ringbark a tree, but not fell it entirely, creating further standing deadwood. Beaver-felled trees are an additional source of fallen deadwood.

Tree felling - It is hoped that tree-felling by beavers for food and building materials may open up gaps in the canopy which favour regenerating broadleaf trees and reduce the dominance of spruce in the valley bottom. Beaver felling is intermittent. It is hoped that over time a diverse age structure of regenerating trees will develop.

Beaver feeding and foraging - Species like hazel, willow and aspen respond favourably to felling or browsing by beavers. Loose cuttings and food caches in the watercourse facilitate dispersal and establishment of riparian vegetation. It is hoped that disturbance from beaver foraging will along riverbanks will encourage a diversity of healthy riparian vegetation and habitat.

Digging, canals, burrows, bank slides, foraging trails - Similar to the disturbance from the free-roaming Galloway cattle, these are dynamic areas of disturbance. Any bare earth, abandoned as beavers move to new foraging areas, provides opportunities for recolonisation by plant species. It is hoped that this will contribute to a diverse age and species structure in wetland vegetation.

For people: The beavers would be introduced into an open access landscape, with people recreating daily along multiple rights of way and waymarked trails. People are likely, in time, to see beavers and their impacts in a free roaming way.

A beaver’s ability to slow the flow of water in storm events will be a demonstrator for flood risk communities in Cumbria as to how this natural architect can contribute to flood mitigation measures.

Wild Ennerdale has a well-established approach to including volunteering into its natural process led management. Monitoring beaver activities would provide a new opportunity to include local people in the being part of the valley’s evolving story.

For the economy: In our original proposal, we suggested that economic and employment benefits could come from increased visitors and infrastructure. Ideas for ecotourism opportunities based at YHA Ennerdale and Low Gillerthwaite Field Centre, bespoke luxury accommodation outside of the valley, guided wildlife watching experiences led by additional staff or contractors, viewing hides and self-led guides were a cause of some concern.

While ecotourism can be a boost to the whole community, none of these elements are critical to beaver reintroduction in Ennerdale, which can be low key and development-free, to maintain and protect the valley’s special sense of wildness and tranquillity.

Beavers provide ecosystem services, contributing to water quality improvements, flood and drought resilience which, although difficult to quantify, are increasingly recognised as being of economic value.

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Beavers are brilliant architects

As aquatic mammals, beavers have evolved to be entirely dependent on water, so their anatomy is perfectly suited to build and maintain wetland habitats.

Chisel like teeth are used to coppice trees, which as well as providing food, provide essential building materials for constructing their dams. Non-webbed forefeet act as dextrous hands, which are used for carrying building materials across land and water, and for digging new connective channels between pools.

Where beavers do not have an existing deep water body, they create their own by damming streams and pooling water to a depth of around 1 meter, often in a dynamic network. These valuable habitats bring huge benefits to a wide range of plants and wildlife. As well as benefiting wildlife, these large, beaver wetlands benefit humans by slowing the flow of water downstream, holding more water back in landscape, and providing a natural filtration service.

Hear what other people have to say about living alongside beavers in the Beaver Trust’s excellent "Beavers without Borders" film.

More about beavers

Living with Beavers
(thanks to Cornwall Wildlife Trust)

How Beavers prevent Flooding
(thanks to the Wildwood Trust)

River Otter Beaver Trial Results
(thanks to Devon Wildlife Trust)