Beavers are nature’s water engineers. They coppice trees, build dams and lodges, and dig canals and burrows. In doing so they create niches for many other species and provide multiple benefits for people. However, in our drained, farmed, urbanised and heavily-managed landscapes, it is these same aspects of beaver behaviour which can bring beavers into conflict with human activities and mean that sometimes management is required. 

The Eurasian beaver is a protected species in Scotland and England. This means that the animals themselves, as well as the homes and dams they build, are protected by law. This website provides more information on this, licencing and how to manage beavers in general.

With beavers now back in Britain after an absence of over 400 years, we need to re-learn what beavers do and how to live alongside them. This website has been designed to share and spread expertise on beaver management so that we can learn to live alongside beavers again.

People and wild beavers are already living side-by-side in many parts of the Northern Hemisphere and we can learn from successful management strategies.

Wherever wild beavers are living, there is huge demand for accurate information about beaver ecology and behaviour. This website aims to make this information available in a variety of formats and provide access to pragmatic support for landowners and other practitioners, as well as providing links to other sources of information.