Post by Chris Mullins on Feb 27, 2005 9:29:13 GMT
Why long lost beaver will soon give a dam about the Highlands
JEREMY WATSON
jwatson@scotlandonsunday.com
THEY ARE much admired by engineers and children, but the great outdoors of Scotland will have seen nothing like them for more than 400 years.
Electronically-tagged beavers are to be set free into the wild under a new £500,000 plan designed by government scientists.
Scottish Natural Heritage wants to release up to 20 of the dam-building, aquatic animals on a wildlife reserve in Argyll as part of an ambitious programme to reintroduce extinct species back into the country.
If approved by the Scottish Executive, the beavers will be imported from Norway and held in quarantine pens before release next spring.
They will be tracked electronically to ensure they do not stray outside the trial area in Knapdale Forest on to surrounding land.
A similar reintroduction programme was sidelined by ministers three years ago following opposition from a neighbouring landowner in the trial area and farmers’ leaders.
But SNH believes it now has overwhelming evidence, based on experience in other countries, that the beavers will cause minimal environmental damage and will increase tourism in the area.
If the trial, being carried out jointly with conservation groups, the Scottish Wildlife Trust and the Mammals Trust UK is successful, other beaver colonies could be set up across Scotland.
Beavers were hunted to extinction in Scotland in the 17th century for their pelts, their meat and their musk glands, which had medicinal properties. But the European Union is insisting that member states set up programmes to reintroduce species that have died out.
SNH believes beaver dams would improve water quality, produce new habitats for fish and help reduce flooding downstream. It stresses that the European beaver causes much less damage than its American counterpart.
The agency has now submitted new evidence from other European countries which have successfully set up beaver colonies.
Until recently, they were confined to remote, densely-wooded regions of eastern Europe, Sweden and Norway, where the animals have the closest genetic resemblance to the former Scottish population.
SNH said the cost of the project, including catching the animals, importation, quarantine, field officers, equipment and monitoring would be spread over a seven-year period.
The agency’s director of science, Colin Galbraith, said: "More than 20 other countries, including France, Germany and Denmark have reintroduced beavers and the experience has been very positive. Beavers fit into the landscape very well and in places like Brittany they have become part of the environment, with minimal damage to agriculture and other interests.
"The habitats in Knapdale are very similar, so we believe it is the right place."
The trial area within the forest is around 10sq km, with numerous small lochs, burns and regenerating woodland.
"There is enough food for them in terms of vegetation and we anticipate they will separate into family groups and settle down," Galbraith said.
"They tend to stay in the area where they have been put as long as they have an adequate food supply.
"We will track them by using small radio transmitters glued to their backs to see how they move around the area. We will know where they are at all times."
Galbraith acknowledged that there would still be some opposition to the reintroduction of a species after four centuries. "I hope that the evidence we have now gathered from other countries will be enough to allay any fears," he said.
The programme is being supported by the Scottish Wildlife Trust, which manages the land, at the northern end of the Kintyre peninsula, on which the trial will take place.
Chief executive Simon Milne insisted the beaver was once part of the Scottish landscape. "This is a keystone species that should be reintroduced to Scotland - not just because it is an attractive furry mammal but because it has an important role in recreating the wetlands of which Scotland has a shortage," he said.
"They build dams which create pools that attract all sorts of wildlife."
Milne insisted that the beavers would not stray far from the release site. "They are not going to go on a rampage across Scotland, because Knapdale appears to be an ideal habitat. This is a hugely exciting project in which the benefits far outweigh any risk."
But opposition is still expected from the National Farmers’ Union Scotland, which said reintroduced beavers had caused problems for Bavarian farmers where land had been flooded because of the animals’ activities.
NFU Scotland communications director James Withers said: "We will look at any new evidence from SNH, but the fundamental problem remains that we haven’t had beavers in Scotland for 400 years and they are not part of our ecology. The farming industry needs serious assurances that you can control wild, roving animals."
The decision on whether to grant SNH a licence to conduct the trial now lies with Scottish Executive environment and rural development minister Ross Finnie.
A spokeswoman said: "The Executive has received additional information from SNH on its proposed trial to reintroduce beavers to Scotland.
"Detailed consideration will be given to the new information and the original proposal, taking account of the range of legal, ecological and economic issues. A decision will be announced in due course."
(Scotland on Sunday - 27th February 2005)
news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=219862005
JEREMY WATSON
jwatson@scotlandonsunday.com
THEY ARE much admired by engineers and children, but the great outdoors of Scotland will have seen nothing like them for more than 400 years.
Electronically-tagged beavers are to be set free into the wild under a new £500,000 plan designed by government scientists.
Scottish Natural Heritage wants to release up to 20 of the dam-building, aquatic animals on a wildlife reserve in Argyll as part of an ambitious programme to reintroduce extinct species back into the country.
If approved by the Scottish Executive, the beavers will be imported from Norway and held in quarantine pens before release next spring.
They will be tracked electronically to ensure they do not stray outside the trial area in Knapdale Forest on to surrounding land.
A similar reintroduction programme was sidelined by ministers three years ago following opposition from a neighbouring landowner in the trial area and farmers’ leaders.
But SNH believes it now has overwhelming evidence, based on experience in other countries, that the beavers will cause minimal environmental damage and will increase tourism in the area.
If the trial, being carried out jointly with conservation groups, the Scottish Wildlife Trust and the Mammals Trust UK is successful, other beaver colonies could be set up across Scotland.
Beavers were hunted to extinction in Scotland in the 17th century for their pelts, their meat and their musk glands, which had medicinal properties. But the European Union is insisting that member states set up programmes to reintroduce species that have died out.
SNH believes beaver dams would improve water quality, produce new habitats for fish and help reduce flooding downstream. It stresses that the European beaver causes much less damage than its American counterpart.
The agency has now submitted new evidence from other European countries which have successfully set up beaver colonies.
Until recently, they were confined to remote, densely-wooded regions of eastern Europe, Sweden and Norway, where the animals have the closest genetic resemblance to the former Scottish population.
SNH said the cost of the project, including catching the animals, importation, quarantine, field officers, equipment and monitoring would be spread over a seven-year period.
The agency’s director of science, Colin Galbraith, said: "More than 20 other countries, including France, Germany and Denmark have reintroduced beavers and the experience has been very positive. Beavers fit into the landscape very well and in places like Brittany they have become part of the environment, with minimal damage to agriculture and other interests.
"The habitats in Knapdale are very similar, so we believe it is the right place."
The trial area within the forest is around 10sq km, with numerous small lochs, burns and regenerating woodland.
"There is enough food for them in terms of vegetation and we anticipate they will separate into family groups and settle down," Galbraith said.
"They tend to stay in the area where they have been put as long as they have an adequate food supply.
"We will track them by using small radio transmitters glued to their backs to see how they move around the area. We will know where they are at all times."
Galbraith acknowledged that there would still be some opposition to the reintroduction of a species after four centuries. "I hope that the evidence we have now gathered from other countries will be enough to allay any fears," he said.
The programme is being supported by the Scottish Wildlife Trust, which manages the land, at the northern end of the Kintyre peninsula, on which the trial will take place.
Chief executive Simon Milne insisted the beaver was once part of the Scottish landscape. "This is a keystone species that should be reintroduced to Scotland - not just because it is an attractive furry mammal but because it has an important role in recreating the wetlands of which Scotland has a shortage," he said.
"They build dams which create pools that attract all sorts of wildlife."
Milne insisted that the beavers would not stray far from the release site. "They are not going to go on a rampage across Scotland, because Knapdale appears to be an ideal habitat. This is a hugely exciting project in which the benefits far outweigh any risk."
But opposition is still expected from the National Farmers’ Union Scotland, which said reintroduced beavers had caused problems for Bavarian farmers where land had been flooded because of the animals’ activities.
NFU Scotland communications director James Withers said: "We will look at any new evidence from SNH, but the fundamental problem remains that we haven’t had beavers in Scotland for 400 years and they are not part of our ecology. The farming industry needs serious assurances that you can control wild, roving animals."
The decision on whether to grant SNH a licence to conduct the trial now lies with Scottish Executive environment and rural development minister Ross Finnie.
A spokeswoman said: "The Executive has received additional information from SNH on its proposed trial to reintroduce beavers to Scotland.
"Detailed consideration will be given to the new information and the original proposal, taking account of the range of legal, ecological and economic issues. A decision will be announced in due course."
(Scotland on Sunday - 27th February 2005)
news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=219862005