Bringing beavers back to the Cairngorms

Beavers are widely known as nature’s engineers because of their remarkable ability to change the environment around them, offering benefits for nature and people alike.

In 2023, following months of engagement with landowners, communities and partners, the Cairngorms National Park Authority led on the first licenced wild release of beavers to an area where there were none, a first in the UK. (Note - there were 2 other wild releases in Scotland before us, but they had beavers nearby). This was a landmark moment in conservation, and a positive step forward for ecological restoration in the National Park.

Discussions about the return of beavers to the Cairngorms started in 2017, with the formation of the Cairngorms Beaver Group, which included representatives from farming and fishing industries, as well as nature conservation organisations. Recognising the rapidly changing policy landscape, this group began considering the varied impacts that beavers might have, should they return to a landscape they had been missing from for more than 400 years.

In 2019, beavers were formally recognised as a European Protected Species by the Scottish Government, and allowed to expand naturally within their current range, but in 2021 there was a change in policy to actively promote planned translocations (moving beavers in pairs or families) to new catchments. In light of this, the Park Authority commissioned a study from experts at the Beaver Trust which explored how likely it would be that beavers would arrive to the Cairngorms National Park through natural migration, information around whether the National Park had suitable habitats for these creatures, and potential benefits and implications for the National Park. The study showed it was unlikely that beavers would expand their range here in the short term and identified an abundance of suitable beaver habitat making the Cairngorms a potential area for reintroduction of the species.

In 2022 the Park Authority board agreed that the Park Authority would take the lead on reintroducing beavers to the Cairngorms, coordinating and facilitating the process with a range of partners and key stakeholders.

Following a period of extensive community engagement, the Park Authority applied for a licence from NatureScot which was granted in December 2023, allowing for the release of 15 pairs of beavers over a five year period. The first pair of beavers were released into Lochan Mor (Lily Loch) on Rothiemurchus in December 2023, with subsequent releases at sites owned by the RSPB and Forestry and Land Scotland, Wildland Cairngorm and a private landowner.

2009 - Beavers are reintroduced to Scotland in Knapdale, mid-Argyll by Scottish Beaver Trial partners the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, Forestry and Land Scotland and NatureScot.

2012 - The Tayside Beaver Study Group is created in response to a decision by The Scottish Government to tolerate an unlicensed beaver population on Tayside. The Tayside population was allowed to remain in place for the remainder of the Scottish Beaver Trial so the two populations could be studied side-by-side.

2015 - Final reports are prepared for Scottish Government on the Scottish Beaver Trial and the results of the Tayside Beaver Study Group’s activities. These reports would help inform a decision on the long-term future of the species in Scotland.

2016 - Scottish Government announced in November 2016 that beavers would remain in Scotland.

2017 - The Park Authority set up a Cairngorms Beaver Group, made up of representatives from the land management, fisheries, public and third sectors.

2019 - Beavers are formally recognised as a European Protected Species by the Scottish Government, allowed to expand naturally within their current range.

2021 - The Scottish Government announced a change in policy, actively promoting translocation (ie carefully moving animals from one location to another) to support the expansion of the beaver population into new catchments.

2021 - The Park Authority commissioned a Beaver Trust study on the likelihood of beavers arriving to the Cairngorms National Park naturally, together with the identification of potential benefits, implications and habitat suitability.

2022 - Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity, Lorna Slater MSP, set out Scottish Government’s clear ambition for beavers to be translocated to the Cairngorms National Park by 2024.

2022 - In June, the Park Authority board agreed that the Park Authority would take the lead on reintroducing beavers to the Cairngorms, coordinating and facilitating the process with a range of partners and key stakeholders.

2022 - In August, the National Park Partnership Plan was published, this outlines our commitment to facilitate beaver translocation to the Cairngorms National Park by 2027.

2022 - In September, NatureScot published the National Beaver Strategy 2022-2025, engaging over 50 different stakeholders to help shape a vision for the future of the species in Scotland. A series of Beaver Blethers formed the main engagement work.

2023 - In February, the Park Authority recruited a full-time Beaver Project Manager to work with partners to bring beavers back to the Cairngorms.

2023 - In October 2023 the application for a beaver release licence for the upper Spey Catchment was submitted to NatureScot.

2023 - December 6 the licence was granted allowing the release of 15 pairs of beavers over a 5 year period starting in the winter of 2023/24.

2023 - December 18 The first pair of beavers were released into the Lily Loch on Rothiemurchus by Lorna Slater MSP, Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity.

2024 - January to March further releases took place on Wildland Cairngorms and RSPB Insh Marshes, bringing the total to six pairs.

2024 - July, the first wild beaver kit born in the Cairngorms National Park for 400+ years was seen on camera.

2024 - October - December year two releases took place on WildLand Limited, on private land between Kingussie and Aviemore and amongst the quieter bays and lochans of the southern shores of Loch Morlich on land owned by Forestry and Land Scotland.

2025 - Year three sites are being scoped for releases in the autumn.

Beavers can have enormous environmental benefits, but their activity can have localised negative impacts, and so as part of our work reintroducing the species we developed a bespoke monitoring and mitigation plan. Much of this work involves proactive monitoring, including checking for habitat changes, and it also involves responding quickly in collaboration with landowners where beaver activity may have negative consequences, for example tree wrapping to protect trees from being gnawed.

In 2023 beavers hadn’t been present in the National Park for more than 400 years. Fast-forward to 2025, and there are juveniles ready to find mates of their own, kits expected in several locations, and the tell-tale signs of nibbled sticks are being spotted by locals and visitors near lochs and along one of our most iconic rivers. As time passes, we’ll be sharing news of the latest releases, monitoring and sharing the impact of beavers returning to the landscape, so stay tuned for updates!

More information

If you would like to find out more about living alongside beavers and how the Park Authority can help, get in touch with Jonathan Willet, Beaver Project Manager at [email protected].

Supporting documents

This document contains the Cairngorms National Park Authority's commitment to helping land managers live alongside beavers. The Park Authority will act as the main contact for managing beavers in the National Park. They'll offer support to businesses, landowners, and the public, including a dedicated Beaver Project Manager, monitoring beaver activity, and talking with landowners to identify high-impact areas. The Park Authority will also help with licence applications for mitigation work and provide funds for small-scale projects. The document also outlines scenarios and details what the national mitigation scheme and the Park Authority will do in each case, covering things like protecting trees, dealing with dams, and managing burrows. They can also help with translocation or lethal control of beavers if other methods don't work.

Please be aware that this summary has been generated using AI.

This document contains an update on beaver activity in the Cairngorms National Park for January 2025. It details beaver activity in various locations, including increased tree felling and lodge building in Rothiemurchus and Wildland, as well as feeding activity in other areas such as Inshriach and Loch Morlich. Monitoring and mitigation efforts include weekly patrols of release sites and the discovery of a beaver kit in Inshriach, with the site manager requesting confidentiality. There are no planned public talks or walks this month, and a flood embankments survey was sent to landowners and managers on 30 January.

Please be aware that this summary has been generated using AI.

This document contains a translocation project form used for planning conservation translocations in Scotland. The purpose of the form is to provide a checklist of issues to consider when planning conservation translocations, to summarize the information needed for consultations, to serve as a project proposal form for obtaining permissions from Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), and to provide a record of translocations for future projects. The form includes sections on contact details, donor and release sites, translocation methodology, benefits, permits, risk assessments, management plans, and data confidentiality. Completing the form is recommended for all conservation translocations and is mandatory for those requiring SNH licenses. The application of the form in this document is for bringing beavers back to Cairngorms National Park with the goal of increasing the current range of beavers in Scotland with release dates planned for Autumn 2023 to Spring 2028.

Please be aware that this summary has been generated using AI.