Cairngorms National Park vows to take lead role in bringing protected beavers to Perth and Kinross area

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The Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) has vowed to help restore a “lost” species by taking a lead role in bringing protected beavers to the area.The decision was made by members at a board meeting on June 10, where CNPA’s role will further help the Scottish Government’s policy to expand the Eurasian beaver population in Scotland.The board wishes to take on a proactive approach, including managing the application, delivery, mitigation support and monitoring, while working alongside partners.The meeting follows on from the publication of a CNPA-commissioned study into the likelihood of the park being naturally colonised by Eurasian beavers and the potential benefits and implications.Eurasian beavers have European Protected Species status and the Scottish Government is supporting translocations as a proactive measure to establish beavers outside of their current range.CNPA’s head of conservation Dr Sarah Henshall said: “As an organisation we are well positioned to take a leadership role and have in place the Cairngorms Beaver group to provide input to this project.“The park authority already undertakes a huge amount of conservation work and is therefore well placed to have the right conversations with land managers, communities and organisations.“A reintroduction of a species to the park is exactly the sort of issue the CNPA was created to lead on.”However, Dr Henshall did stress that the CNPA’s approach will be collaborative: “We will be doing work around supporting land managers and owners, as well as communities, over the coming year to be well informed and prepared for living with beavers, prior to any application being made to NatureScot.”By the end of June, NatureScot will identify two or three priority