THE EREWASH BOROUGH COUNCIL is considering plans to reintroduce beavers to the Erewash in a bid, it tells to boost biodiversity.
Its draft biodiversity strategy could see the Eurasian beaver find a new home in the Erewash valley, Janet Friend reports.
The move follows work by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust to breed a beaver population at Willington Wetlands nature reserve in 2021, which brought the species back to the county for the first time in 800 years.
Canal and river
If introduced, the beavers will be in both the canal and river as they run side be side, and though it is told that reintroduction costs thousands of pounds per beaver, their return helps to improve water quality and reduce flood risks, the trust maintains.
A council spokeswoman told:
"The proposed objective to reintroduce Eurasian beavers is thrilling, but it's still in the early stages.
"Introducing species like beavers that help mitigate flood risk could create a safer, more attractive environment for our borough too."
But beavers are well known for bringing down trees to dam rivers, and most likely canals! With the Erewash Canal being at risk.