Next steps being taken in project to return beavers to Shrewsbury

Signs have been put in place at the boardwalk which links Hubert way with the Mount Pleasant area warning of a three-day closure.

People from Shrewsbury Town Council, which manages the Old River Bed site of special scientific interest, and Shropshire Wildlife Trust were 'beavering away' in the area on Tuesday , in advance of the three- day closure from the next day.

When the site has been confirmed as secure and everyone is happy with the project it is anticipated that the beavers will be brought on to the site.

The 'urban beaver trial' is a five-year project to help the area become a better wetland habitat for insects, fish, birds and mammals.

Shrewsbury Town Council says the site is a nationally rare wetland fen and is protected by Natural England. It has a number of interesting plants and animals present, stores a large amount of carbon in the peat, provides flood water storage for the Severn, and helps to filter pollutants from the surrounding area.

But it is under threat from gradual tree encroachment which is causing the peat to dry out. Past efforts to slow this have been costly and only worked in the short term: tree removal with chainsaws, desilting channels with heavy plant, and grazing with cattle.

For the last few years, Shrewsbury Town Council in partnership with Shropshire Wildlife Trust and the Welsh Beaver Project, have been investigating the use of Eurasian Beaver as a management tool on the wetland. These secretive herbivores were part of our ecosystems until around 400 years ago when they were hunted to extinction, and were very likely present on this wetland in the past.

Shropshire Wildlife Trust says project aims to trial release of two beavers (or a family) within an enclosed site. The beavers will be monitored by ecologists during the trial and the fence that will be installed to protect them has been specially designed to keep them on the site.

The Shropshire Beaver Project has been made possible by experts and funders, including Severn Trent Water, Veolia Environmental Trust and Potter Group as part of the Landfill Communities Fund, Beaver Bridges and the John Ellerman Foundation as well as the generosity of Shropshire Wildlife Trust members and supporters.

The Old River Bed is currently managed using Shrewsbury Town Council funds, but the release of beavers will mean that this would no longer be required across the whole site.

The wildlife trust plans to organise guided visits to the site once the beavers are settled in and when they are confident that there are reliable spots for viewing.