Trees for Life calls for approval of a trial reintroduction of the European beaver

Trees for Life aims to restore the Caledonian Forest to a large contiguous area in the Highlands of Scotland, and advocates the return of all the country's missing species, recognising that they are essential parts of healthy and balanced ecosystems. Our accomplishments to date include the planting of almost half a million trees, the protection of some important Caledonian Forest remnants so that they can regenerate without overgrazing by deer, and the involvement of thousands of volunteers in our work.

Trees for Life has long supported the proposed trial reintroduction of beavers to Scotland, and is part of the Scottish Beavers Network, an informal grouping of individuals and organisations seeking the return of beavers as soon as possible. We took part in a study tour to a beaver introduction site in Brittany, France in 1996 and have produced a Species Profile about the European beaver.

Almost 3 years have passed since Scottish Natural Heritage's application to the Scottish Executive for a licence for the trial reintroduction was deferred, pending the outcome of further research. The additional information requested has now been made available, and far more study and preparation has been carried out in Scotland than in any of the other European countries where beavers have already been successfully reintroduced.

At the beginning of the 20th century, beavers had been exterminated from most of their range in Europe. Since then, reintroduction programmes have successfully gone ahead in 13 countries, including such densely populated and urbanised countries as Holland. Few problems have been experienced in those programmes, and the beavers have been shown to provide both environmental improvements to the areas where they've been reintroduced, and economic benefits through increased tourism earnings.

In the trial reintroduction proposed by Scottish Natural Heritage, 15-20 beavers will be brought from Scandinavia, and after quarantining, they will be released at Knapdale in Argyll, at a site which is managed by the Scottish Wildlife Trust and Forestry Commission Scotland. Only after the beavers have been carefully monitored for 5-6 years would a wider reintroduction to other parts of Scotland be considered.

Trees for Life has won a number of awards for its conservation work to help restore the Caledonian Forest. In 1991 it was declared the UK Conservation Project of the Year, and in 2000 it received the Millennium Marque award for 'demonstrating environmental excellence for the 21st century'. In addition, Trees for Life Founder and Executive Director Alan Watson Featherstone received the prestigious Schumacher Award in 2001 for 'his inspirational and practical work on conserving and restoring degraded ecosystems'.