Loch Ard beavers giving water voles a leg up
Forty volunteers have this week carried out a beaver survey ‘blitz’ throughout Loch Ard Forest.
The survey, conducted in conjunction with the Forth Rivers Trust and Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, aims to map the extent of the introduced beavers’ territories and how they connect.
FLS’ Environment Forester, Katy Anderson, said;
“With the help of the Beaver Trust we translocated the latest beaver family to Loch Ard about 18 months ago. They’ve settled in well, slotting in to the local ecosystem and making a positive contribution to the area.
“All of the beaver lodges and dams that have been built are raising water levels, which will ultimately create more of the wetlands habitat that water voles favour.
“The survey, which aims to check as many of the rivers and burns in Loch Ard Forest as possible, will give us a really good indication of the extent of the beavers’ activity.
“The findings will help us both to assess how the beavers are distributed and to plan our future forest management and conservation work.”
While the beavers are a relatively new addition to the area, water voles were reintroduced to Loch Ard in 2008 after the population had been decimated by mink.
A combination of reintroduction and mink control re-established the species in the area, providing a foundation for gradual and steady colonisation of surrounding areas.
The habitat engineering carried out by the beavers will further boost the water vole population throughout the forest.
Katy added;
“There is still a threat from mink but it is much less than it was twenty years ago when we first started mink control.
“However, the work that the beavers are doing goes a long way to bolstering the water vole population."
The recent increase in volunteer numbers will see further work done to assess water vole populations across a wider area than would otherwise have been possible, and to carry out additional mink monitoring and control work, supported through the Nature Restoration Fund.
Notes to Editors
- Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) manages forests and land owned by Scottish Ministers in a way that supports and enables economically sustainable forestry; conserves and enhances the environment; delivers benefits for people and nature; and supports Scottish Ministers in their stewardship of Scotland's national forests and land.
- Home - Forestry and Land Scotland | twitter.com/ForestryLS