The Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) was hunted to extinction in Britain around 400 years ago, but we are on a mission to give this industrious, much-loved creature a helping paw in its return to the south coast. Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust is hoping to support the recovery of this ecosystem engineer starting with a wild release to the Eastern Yar river on the Isle of Wight.  

Beavers are native to Britain and used to be common along waterways until hunting for their meat, fur, and scent oils drove them to extinction by the 16th century. However, beavers are once again becoming a key part of the British landscape.  

Beavers could play a really unique and important role in creating a Wilder Wight. They are a keystone species meaning they can enhance, create, and sustain natural wetland ecosystems, bringing benefits to both people and wildlife. 

Why does the Trust want to have a wild population of beavers on the Eastern Yar river, Isle of Wight? 

The Isle of Wight is a haven for wildlife but, with increased pressures from climate change, development and intensive industrialised agriculture, wildlife is at risk from weather extremes, pollution and habitat fragmentation. 

One of the possible solutions to improving the Eastern Yar for both wildlife and people is beavers.  Beavers are often referred to as ecosystem engineers as they can transform their habitat and bring enormous benefits for wildlife and people. In 2020 the Trust commissioned a study by leading experts on the feasibility of bringing beavers to the Island. Modelling data suggests there is ample suitable habitat along many of our Island rivers due to abundance of willow woodland (beavers favoured food) and other wetlands alongside the Eastern Yar. Furthermore, the study found the Eastern Yar catchment, in particular, to be “highly suitable for beaver release and long-term occupation” especially since at 24km in length, it’s the Island’s longest river.  

We need to support nature’s recovery in the Eastern Yar now more than ever:  

• Man-made problems have had a detrimental impact on the river’s habitats and wildlife.  

• Habitat diversity has been lost where the river has been artificially straightened.  

• Dredging has increased the height of the riverbanks and resulted in a loss of river-floodplain connection, making flash flooding more likely.  

• Pollution from surface water and agricultural run-off has degraded the wetland habitat and water quality.  

And beavers can help us save and restore this special habitat...  

• An overwhelming body of evidence reveals that beavers create diverse, dynamic, wetland habitats as well as natural riverine channel structures, benefitting flowering plants, amphibians, fish, birds, bats, and insects.  

• Beavers provide a cost-effective natural alternative to help tackle many of our water resource challenges such as water pollution, floods and drought.  

• The Eastern Yar has been dredged and straightened, meaning water travels rapidly downstream towards low-lying communities during periods of heavy rain. Beaver dams can slow river flows along tributary streams and in the upper parts of the river catchment. This means during heavy rainfall downstream storm drains and other infrastructure are not overwhelmed and have more time to wash away heavy rainfalls, reducing risks of flooding. 

• Their engineering work will help to reconnect the floodplain making flash flooding less likely as water will be able to be stored. 

• The Eastern Yar has moderate to poor water quality. Beaver dams can help trap and filter out pollutants including silt, sediment, nitrates and phosphates, leading to cleaner waters downstream where water is abstracted for public use. Improved water quality will also benefit other species.  

Beavers positive influence 

Beavers have a positive influence on the local environment and the animals and plants that live there by creating diverse wetland habitats. 

Insects 
Beaver ponds are full of organic material such as tree branches. This creates plenty of food for aquatic insects to feed on, boosting the productivity of the river and supporting the rest of the food chain. 

Water voles 
As beavers coppice trees along riverbanks they open up the canopy, allowing more sunlight in to support grasses and wildflowers, creating perfect lawns for water voles to graze on. 

Amphibians 
The ponds create large areas of standing water that provide an ideal spawning habitat for frogs, toads, and newts. 

Fish 
Beaver ponds make great rearing habitat for fish, filled with plenty of insect food and woody cover to escape predators. 

Beaver Recovery Project update 

The Trust’s work preparing a wild beaver release licence continues - despite the then Environment Secretary Therese Coffey announcing in October 2023 that species re-introductions (and beavers specifically) were not a priority.  

The Trust is campaigning at a national level for the overdue England Beaver Strategy that needs to encompass co-existence with wild living beavers and licencing for wild releases. The draft ecological assessment has been completed, a huge undertaking that assesses the likely impact of beavers on our Isle of Wight European designated sites, particularly the Solent and Southampton Water Special Protection Area, the Solent and Isle of Wight Lagoons Special Area of Conservation and Alverstone Marshes SSSI, as well as Priority habitats and species in the Eastern Yar floodplain and immediate surrounds.  

The next steps are to prepare a socioeconomic assessment and to further engage with the local farming community and riparian landowners to better understand their perspectives and to ground truth some of our habitat mapping and risk assessments.  

Nicola Wheeler (Beaver Recovery Project Officer) along with Emma Hunt (Isle of Wight Reserves Officer) and Jamie Marsh (Director of Nature Recovery Wilder Wight, Solent and Seas), recently attended a Natural England beaver licence training course, and are well equipped with the knowledge and understanding as well as the requirements for managing beaver dams and burrows if they occur in undesirable places.  

The Trust is currently establishing a beaver project volunteer task force, on the Isle of Wight, in order to help carry out baseline ecology surveys, map important infrastructure and undertake invasive Himalayan balsam control on some of the Trust’s Eastern Yar sites on the Isle of Wight, during the summer.  

Please email Nicola for details if you would like to volunteer.