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  • Home
  • About the Vision Group for Sidmouth
    • Background and history
    • What is the VGS currently involved in?
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    • VGS Newsletters
    • VGS pieces in the press
  • Subjects library
    • VGS Projects
      • Friends of Glen Goyle
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        • Cycling Archive
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        • Sustainable Sidmouth Champions Awards
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        • Food and sustainability
        • Sidmouth 2020
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          • Creating a new Vision for Sidmouth
          • Learning from Lockdown
      • Solarpunk
        • Solarpunk 2021
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        • Solarpunk: resources for Sidmouth
        • Solarpunk events
        • Solarpunk: between art and science
    • Some legislation of importance to Sidmouth
      • Covid-19 related legislation
      • East Devon draft Local Plan
        • Sidmouth in EDDC’s Local Plan
      • East Devon Byelaws and Licensing
      • Sidmouth Town Council matters
      • National Legislation of particular importance to Sidmouth
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      • Local Economic Resilience
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        • From the BMP Steering Group
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        • Erosion at Sidmouth in pictures
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        • Sediment transport images
        • Waves, winds and tides
        • A framework for the BMP
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On the River Otter: successful rewilding of the beaver

  • by J.W.
  • January 5, 2020May 30, 2023

Six years ago, beavers were spotted in the wild for the first time in hundreds of years – and it was in East Devon:

Futures Forum: On the River Otter: First ever video of a wild beaver in England

Although a correspondent had pointed out that this was in fact the second viewing:

Futures Forum: On the River Otter: First ever video of a wild beaver in England… but two and a half years ago…

.

Since then, there has been a huge effort to convince the authorities that the beavers should stay:

Futures Forum: On the River Otter: beavers and rewilding Devon … and “trying to repair the monstrous damage we have inflicted on nature in Britain”

.

And now a five-year programme to do just that has come to an end – as reported across the media these last days:

Story image for beavers devon wildlife trust from ITV News

Experts hail success for England’s only wild beavers

ITV News–1 Jan 2020
A trial of beavers living wild on an English river for the first time in … Plans for a monitoring trial were put forward by Devon Wildlife Trust, with …
Reintroduction of beavers could protect land against floods …
Telegraph.co.uk–1 Jan 2020

Story image for beavers devon wildlife trust from Telegraph.co.uk

Beaver that escaped rewilding project is found three miles …

Telegraph.co.uk–4 Jan 2020
Mark Elliott, from Devon Wildlife Trust, said the beaver had now been paired with another female and is unlikely to go on any travels anytime …
‘Awol’ beaver collected from Somerset house
BBC News–4 Jan 2020

Story image for beavers devon wildlife trust from Somerset County Gazette

Experts hail success in Devon for England’s only wild beavers

Somerset County Gazette–10 hours ago
Experts hail success in Devon for England’s only wild beavers. A female beaver. Picture: Michael Symes/Devon Wildlife Trust/PA Wire.

England’s first wild beaver colony in centuries is ‘helping …

The Independent–2 Jan 2020
England’s first beavers to live in the wild in 400 years are positively ….. Devon Wildlife Trust’s Mark Elliott said the mammals have created …
Experts say Beavers are doing well and helping the community
CBBC Newsround–2 Jan 2020
UK’s first wild beaver colony in 400 years has been a success
Countryliving (UK)–3 Jan 2020

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At the centre of these efforts has been the Devon Wildlife Trust:

https://www.devonwildlifetrust.org/what-we-do/our-projects/river-otter-beaver-trial

.

And so successful has this project been that there are now further plans to reintroduce the beaver elsewhere in England:

Story image for beavers devon wildlife trust from BBC Countryfile Magazine

Beavers to be reintroduced in southern England

BBC Countryfile Magazine–22 Nov 2019
Beavers once made up an important part of the UK’s wildlife, … There are currently small populations of beavers on the River Otter in South East Devon, … said Mark Harold, Director of Land and Nature at the National Trust.
The National Trust announces planned reintroduction of beavers
BBC Discover Wildlife–22 Nov 2019

Story image for beavers devon wildlife trust from Telegraph.co.uk

Beavers could be reintroduced into the wild by government for …

Telegraph.co.uk–29 Oct 2019
It is currently illegal to release beavers into the wild, because of the … on the River Otter, which are supervised by the Devon Wildlife Trust, and …

Beavers to be reintroduced in Somerset and South Downs

BBC News–20 Nov 2019
Beavers will be released at two sites in the south of England next spring, the National Trust … natural processes and contributing to the health and richness of wildlife in the area,” Ben Eardley, project manager for the National Trust at Holnicote said. … in recent years, including on the River Otter in Devon.
Beavers to be released in plan to ease flooding and aid …
In-Depth–The Guardian–19 Nov 2019

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