NATURESCOT has authorised a licence software from the Cairngorms Nationwide Park Authority to launch as much as six beaver households within the park.
They are going to be launched at agreed websites within the higher River Spey catchment.
The choice will assist improve the present vary of beavers in Scotland, as set out as a precedence in Scotland’s Beaver Technique 2022-2045.
The approval marks the fifth catchment to which beavers have both been formally granted permission to stay or have been launched.
The applying from the Park Authority was assessed by NatureScot according to the Scottish Code for Conservation Translocations, which considers points together with web site suitability, potential impacts on neighbouring land administration, and group pursuits.
NatureScot has assessed the catchment as extremely beneficial for beavers, with a low danger of beaver/human battle.
An environmental report highlights components of the River Spey catchment have lengthy been recognized as some of the appropriate places for beaver releases.
NatureScot considers that establishing a brand new inhabitants within the River Spey will convey many biodiversity and ecosystem advantages to the Cairngorms Nationwide Park and make a major contribution to beaver restoration in Scotland.
Donald Fraser, NatureScot Head of Wildlife Administration, stated: “This resolution marks a major milestone for beaver restoration in Scotland, bringing this keystone species again to certainly one of our greatest river catchments with large potential for beavers to contribute to habitat restoration and biodiversity enhancement within the Cairngorms Nationwide Park.
“We additionally respect and perceive each the help and bonafide considerations articulated by farmers and crofters all through the session course of.
“We’re happy that the monitoring and mitigation plans set out by the Cairngorms Nationwide Park Authority, alongside our present Beaver Mitigation Scheme, will sufficently deal with any potential conflicts which will come up.”
The licence permits the discharge of as much as six beaver households (pairs with dependent younger) on the agreed websites within the first yr.
It additionally permits for future further releases at different websites over the subsequent 5 years, bringing the full as much as 15 beaver households.
Any further releases or websites can be topic to approval by the NatureScot licensing group.
The beavers will likely be trapped and brought underneath license from areas the place they’re having a unfavourable affect on Prime Agricultural Land and the place mitigation measures haven’t been profitable or should not attainable.
The beavers will bear applicable well being screening earlier than being launched.