Sussex and SE Beaver Partnerships

The Sussex Beaver Partnership

The Sussex Beaver Partnership is led by Sussex Wildlife Trust in partnership with a large number of key stakeholders. We envisage that this Partnership will become the Sussex Beaver Management Group. Our partners include :-

  • The National Trust,
  • The University of Exeter,
  • The Beaver Trust,
  • Southern Water,
  • South East Water,
  • Forestry England,
  • Natural England,
  • Environment Agency,
  • Knepp Estate,
  • RSPB,
  • Sussex University,
  • National Farmers Union,
  • The High Weald AONB,
  • South Downs National Park,
  • Arun & Rother Rivers Trust
  • Ouse & Adur Rivers Trust

Advice is also sought from key experts such as Mark Elliott of the Devon Beaver Trial.

Aims & Objectives

The Aims of the Sussex Beaver Partnership are to :-

  • Understand the impacts of Beavers in lowland Sussex landscapes
  • Support those living with Beavers, applying for a licence and managing Beavers in Sussex.
  • Establish a healthy, breeding population of Eurasian Beavers in each Sussex river catchment, taking a strategic approach to Beaver recovery at a landscape scale.

The Sussex Beaver Partnership will try and ensure that Beaver recovery is conducted in an objective and scientific manner, following IUCN and Welfare guidelines, liaising closely with local communities, and supporting monitoring of the effects that Beavers have on their local environment.

The main objectives of the Sussex Beaver Partnership are as follows:

  • Assess the potential for Beavers to be restored to the wider Sussex landscape
  • Provide evidence to assist local & national understanding of the impacts of Beaver restoration
  • Support those applying for Beaver licences
  • Increase knowledge and awareness of Beavers and their interactions in the landscape
  • Identify wider public benefits associated with Beaver activity in the landscape
  • Support others to develop management techniques to enable a future free living Beaver population
  • Understand the ecology, and population dynamics of Beavers in a lowland, busy landscape

The South East Beaver Partnership

As above, this partnership will help to coordinate and lead on targeted Beaver recovery across the South East.