What Will Happen When The Beaver Dams Burst In The Forest Of Dean UK

Scientists believe the beavers may be able to hold back enough water to help with flood alleviation for Lydbrook by quickly constructing natural dam structures and creating new habitat.

The Environment Secretary will visit a similar scheme run by the Devon Wildlife Trust in December where he will see first-hand the new dams, pools and other dramatic changes that have resulted from releasing two beavers on a 200 metre stretch of waterway in North Devon.

www.gov.uk...

Water from a beaver dam that burst Friday night — in the same place a break occurred in 2001 — has temporarily wiped out Swetts Pond Road and a portion of the nearby railroad tracks.

Road and Pan Am rail crews could be seen Saturday scrambling to fix the flood damage.

“The beaver flowage that broke 10 years ago and did all that damage — that same beaver flow breached again,” Assistant Fire Chief Scott Stewart said Saturday. “It’s sticks and mud — it’s a beaver dam — and sticks and mud break.”

bangordailynews.com...



Go to 2:00 to see what happens when a beaver dam fails.




Comment with this video.

I was one of the guys on shore, this video doesn't do it justice, it came through the bush like a locomotive!, we tracked back up through the woods and found it was a series of dams that had given way, it was incredible

I don't think the rewilders have thought this one through. Lydbrook could be in for a flood like never before, and it's most likely to happen after very heavy rain when everything is already waterlogged.

Beavers are an 'iconic species', so logic goes out the window.

. . . the Forest of Dean proposal is a fantastic opportunity to help bring this iconic species back . . .

www.countryside-alliance.org...



The people of Lydbrook are being sold one side of the story, as is standard with British rewilding. Next time I go to the Forest I'll try to find time to study the topography of Lydbrook and perhaps have some conversations with the locals.

a reply to: Kester

lol

"The F!^#% Darwin Awards if we dont get out of here"!

At the end of video 2

There will be a lot of unhappy beavers?

a reply to: schuyler

Surfing beavers.

Topography forms a major physical constraint to development in Lydbrook because of the steep valley sides and constricted valley floor.

www.fdean.gov.uk...

Lydbrook without beavers.

I think it may be more than unhappy beavers if dams burst above the village.

a reply to: Kester

2 comments:

- Jesus, that is some gorgeous country that the flowage was running through. Stunning.
- its the epitome of insanity to allow natural beaver dams to manage fresh water flowage/storage upstream from human habitation

Maybe 10 beavers should have been released. I've seen some amazingly huge dams in Canada!

Just deport the Bieber back to Canada...

/

originally posted by: ShadowChatter
Just deport the Bieber back to Canada...

/

Best to just have it put down at this point, better for everyone.

Probably the same thing as when the reintroduced wolves get hungry, escape and eat a family of hikers.

It's a lovely concept but it isn't a thousand years ago anymore, people have moved into the wilderness and it's more accessible.

Can you imagine a building inspector certifying a beaver dam? If it's going to be used for flood protection it needs to be fit for purpose.

Who knows if a lazy ass Beaver on the work crew isn't picking up deadwood because it can't be arsed gnawing live trees?

They should allow some of these Greenies to befriend some Dolphins and then all go swimming in the shark infested waters off South Africa safe in the knowledge the Dolphins will keep them safe.

I will be very sparse with names and locations.
A crazy old coot with a case of dynamite and a large beaver dam on his property can certainly foil the plans of land developers that threaten to take his property under imminent domain laws.

a reply to: Kester

I don't think the rewilders have thought this one through. Lydbrook could be in for a flood like never before, and it's most likely to happen after very heavy rain when everything is already waterlo

If we do not rewild we will die. I dont think you have thought this through.

a reply to: Kester

I don't think the rewilders have thought this one through. Lydbrook could be in for a flood like never before, and it's most likely to happen after very heavy rain when everything is already waterlo

If we do not rewild we will die. I dont think you have thought this through.

On one side I find myself humming the "Dam Busters" theme tune, below, which is pretty rousing and would certainly scare the beavers if played loudly enough!

On another side I consider the release of beavers in a place where the downstream impact has not been properly considered to be moronic, but then building houses on floodplains is also moronic. Not suggesting this is the case here, but you never know.

a reply to: purplemer

Nature takes care of rewilding very well when we withdraw.

We have many lynx and other larger cats here already. It seems very odd that most publicised rewilders deny this.

. . . if a breeding population of these animals existed, hard evidence would be abundant and commonplace. Its absence shows that there is no such population. With the possible exception of the very occasional fugitive, the beasts reported by so many sober, upright, reputable people are imaginary.

www.monbiot.com...

Many ATS contributors have seen British big cats. They're here. Denying this makes the publicised rewilders seem like conventional supporters of 'the official story'. Not in touch with reality.

Beaver are a different issue because they need water. Their range is very limited making undocumented relic populations impossible and escapes/releases are soon spotted.

I don't oppose beaver re-introduction generally.

I went to the Forest today and took a detour through Lydbrook.

It seems to me to be the stupidest place to reintroduce beavers unless you want a catastrophic flood.

I also discussed the lynx I saw with a dog walker I met near the location of that sighting. He told me a local had told him there was one in the area.

Selling beavers as water management is nuts.

Sure they build dams, but they aren't methodical or precise about it. And the aftermath of their construction can be dangerous for the area. It's one thing to release the beavers, but it's another thing entirely to fail to plan for the full consequences of their re-introduction.

Heck, what's next? Will they release wolves and sell them as natural butchers to keep the shops stocked?

a reply to: ketsuko

Wolf

Suitability for reintroduction: Good. There’s no ecological reason why wolves can’t live in Britain – there is enough habitat and wild prey.

www.rewildingbritain.org.uk...

I have no words.