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Archive photo · 24 October 2021NatureScot Approves Ness Beaver Project To Reintroduce Up To 15 Beaver Family Groups
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NatureScot approved license to reintroduce up to 15 beaver family groups over three years. Ness Beaver Project led by Trees for Life and Beaver Trust aims to boost biodiversity.
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Loch Ness beavers return
NatureScot approved the Ness Beaver Project to reintroduce beavers to the Loch Ness catchment for the first time in 500 years, granting an official release licence to Trees for Life and the Beaver Trust. NatureScot’s approved plan will release up to 15 beaver family groups into suitable waterways across the River Ness catchment over three years, with the first releases expected within weeks. NatureScot’s Jenny Bryce said, "Bringing beavers back to this beautiful place will be great progress for Scotland's Beaver Strategy, bringing benefits for nature, climate and people."
“NatureScot has granted an official release licence to conservation charities Trees for Life and the Beaver Trust.”
NatureScot said the first stage will focus on selected locations suitable for wildlife between Fort Augustus and Lochend, and it said all beavers chosen for the project will undergo strict health checks before being moved to their new homes. The project also follows the fact that Eurasian beavers were hunted to extinction in Scotland during the 16th century, with the loss changing local rivers and waterways.
Consultations and mitigation
NatureScot said it approved the releases after carrying out detailed environmental checks and consulting local landowners, farmers and Highland communities, and it said it identified the Loch Ness catchment in 2022 as one of Scotland's most suitable places for beavers. NatureScot’s Robbie Kernahan said, "Beavers can bring many benefits for nature and people, creating habitats such as ponds and wetlands where other species thrive, as well as moderating water flows in times of flood and water scarcity." NatureScot said concerns had been raised by land managers and residents through the consultation process, and it said these would be taken seriously.
NatureScot said it assessed the monitoring and mitigation plans set out by the applicants and believed that, along with its existing Beaver Mitigation Scheme, any potential conflicts that may arise can be resolved. The BBC reported that NatureScot said any beavers released would be trapped and taken from areas where they were having a negative impact on prime agricultural land and where mitigation measures had not been successful or possible.
What comes next
Trees for Life said it and Beaver Trust would announce specific reintroduction sites once the beavers have been settled, and it said the animals would be moved from other locations in Scotland to the reintroduction sites. The Ness Beaver Project is expected to release at least 15 beaver family groups around Loch Ness over the next three years, with initial releases possible as early as next month. Alan McDonnell, Trees for Life’s head of nature restoration, said, "Beavers are key allies in tackling the interconnected climate and biodiversity crises facing us all, so this successful result brings real hope for the future."
“The licence has been granted to Trees for Life and the Beaver Trust.”
Dr Roisin Campbell-Palmer, head of restoration at Beaver Trust, said, "We’re delighted by NatureScot’s decision, and grateful for the invaluable engagement from people who live and work locally." The BBC said the licence has been granted to Trees for Life and the Beaver Trust, and it said the last widely-cited historical record of Scotland's beavers, dating from 1526 to 1527, placed them around Loch Ness.
