SBAG Scottish Beaver Advisory Group Meeting - 26 October 2023

Battleby: 10.30 – 12.30

Attendees:

Chair: Jill Robbie
Jenny Bryce (NatureScot)
Roisin Campbell-Palmer (Beaver Trust)
Hugh Dignon (Scottish Government)
Nadia Flaherty (Scottish Land and Estates)
Hazel Forrest (Scottish Wildlife Trust)
Erin Garner (NatureScot)
Graeme Heenan (Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park)
Kenny Kortland (Forestry and Land Scotland)
Sally Mackenzie (Cairngorms National Park Authority)
Kate Maitland (National Farmers Union Scotland)
James Nairne (Scottish Beaver Group)
Helen Senn (Royal Zoological Society of Scotland)
Juli Titherington (Scottish Forestry)
Alan Wells* (Fisheries Management Scotland)

* joined virtually

Apologies: April Armstrong (Confor), Doreen Bell (Scottish Water), Catherine Damen (COSLA), Donald Fraser (NatureScot), Rachel Helliwell (Centre of Expertise for Waters), Scot Mathieson (Scottish Environment Protection Agency), Alan McDonnell (Trees for Life)

1. Welcome and introductions

The chair opened the meeting by welcoming attendees to Battleby.

2. Update from chair on recent site visits

The chair provided an update on recent site visits to Tom Bowser at Argaty Red Kites; Adrian Ivory’s Farm with NFUS, Stephen Young (Director of Policy at Scottish Land and Estates) and NatureScot representatives; and two beaver locations near Dunkeld with Roisin Campbell-Palmer and James Silvey.

The chair invited attendees to contact her with other useful sites to visit and thanked those who had already facilitated visits.

3. Minutes of previous meeting – 17 August 2023 and matters arising

The minutes of the previous meeting were approved as an accurate record.

4. Action points and matters arising

AP 1: NatureScot to review the leads against actions for the next meeting, and provide a list of those assigned to SBAG. NatureScot to email named leads on behalf of SBAG to remind them of their responsibilities in the Strategy, to ask them whether they are the appropriate body for that action, whether they have the resources for that action, and what is the progress towards achievement of outcomes. Discharged. Proposal for sub-groups to take responsibility for actions rather than named leads. Noted that action allocations can be reviewed.

AP 2: All sub-groups to aim to meet before the next SBAG meeting on 26 October and advise the secretariat of the list of those to be invited to access the SBAG sharefiles. Outstanding. Sub-groups on the agenda for discussion.

AP 3: NatureScot to set up an email address for SBAG for all correspondence. Discharged.

AP 4: NatureScot to set up share files for each of the sub-groups. Discharged.

New AP 1: NatureScot to include a link to the main share file in all correspondence to the group.

AP 5: Draft ToR for fish and Fisheries sub-group to be shared as an example to promote consistency. Discharged.

AP 6: NatureScot to review the ToR to ensure consistency. Outstanding. Dependent on AP 2. Sub-groups on agenda for discussion.

AP 7: SBAG to approve the sub-groups ToR. Outstanding. Dependent on AP 2. Sub-groups on agenda for discussion.

AP 8: All to advise NatureScot where there is existing interest in beaver translocation. Discharged. Translocations on agenda for discussion.

AP 9: NatureScot to provide a summary the response to SAWC recommendations. Discharged.

Some stakeholders (Scottish Beaver Group, SE LINK, Beaver Trust) expressed disappointment in the response and requested a more robust exploration of the welfare concerns expressed by SAWC.

New AP 2: NatureScot to arrange a separate meeting to discuss the SAWC recommendations and response, inviting all SBAG members and technical experts.

AP 10: NatureScot to provide an update when a PM contract is awarded. Discharged. Outcome to be shared with SBAG following notification of all parties.

AP 11: Scottish Forestry to provide an update to SBAG on beavers and Scottish Forestry Grants. Discharged. Expecting interim response that explains impact on grants in coming weeks.

National Farmers Union Scotland sought clarification from Scottish Government on impact of beaver activity on other funding streams.

New AP 3: Scottish Government to discuss impact of beaver activity on SG funding with RPID colleagues and ask about emerging strategy in this area.

AP 12: NatureScot to initiate a doodle poll for a site visit around the time of the next meeting. Discharged. Unable to identify a suitable date. Future dates on agenda for discussion.

5. Review of strategy progress

NatureScot opened a discussion to support this group’s role in evaluating progress against the beaver strategy.

NatureScot has reviewed all 88 actions in the strategy and considered where named leads should be reassigned. Following review, it is proposed that most actions sit with one of the sub-groups, with remaining actions allocated to this group as a whole or to a specific organisation.

The group discussed options for supporting progress reporting, including an annual report, linking agenda items to specific actions and reporting lines from sub-groups to the full group.

The group also reflected on difficulties with identifying and protecting adequate resource within the group and its component organisations to drive progress of the action plan.

New AP 4: NatureScot to circulate the strategy progress spreadsheet via email, with comments to be sent to the SBAG admin inbox.

6. Sub-group updates

At the August meeting, the group agreed that four sub-groups be established: Fish and Fisheries, Mitigation and Management, Communications, and Research and Innovation. As yet, none of these sub-groups have met and discussions are ongoing about chairs, membership, and Terms of Reference.

The group discussed how the sub-groups would work in practice. NatureScot advised that the strategy progress spreadsheet sets out which actions each sub-group will take forward and each sub-group should review these, develop their Terms of Reference and decide how they want to operate. Where a sub-group member is not also a member of SBAG, it is advisable to include the main SBAG contact for that organisation in all sub-group correspondence.

New AP 5: NatureScot to circulate a list of who has been invited to each sub-group to the full group for consideration, noting that sub-group and SBAG membership may differ and that SBAG will have oversight of all sub-group reporting.

Communications / Research and Innovation (NatureScot)

Neither sub-group has met but chairs and suggestions for membership for both have been identified. Sarah Robinson (Scottish Wildlife Trust) will chair the Communications sub-group and Aileen Mills (University of Newcastle) will chair the Research and Innovation sub-group.

The group discussed the purpose of the Communications sub-group and the intended added value above the communications already issued by NatureScot. NatureScot advised that there are a number of communications-related actions in the beaver strategy that need delivered (eg communications strategy, beaver strategy website, producing material for use in schools) and that these have been allocated to the Communications sub-group to take forward.

The group agreed to retain the Communications sub-group but to keep this under review as it becomes clearer what SBAG would like to communicate. The group also agreed that a beaver webpage which collates existing resources (eg Best Practice, guidance, educational material, strategies) would be a sensible place for this sub-group to start.

Management and Mitigation (Beaver Trust)

Invites for the sub-group meeting have been issued. Requests for inclusion should be sent to Roisin in the first instance.

Fish and Fisheries (Fisheries Management Scotland)

Work is ongoing to identify a date for the first sub-group meeting but Terms of Reference have been drafted.

7. Translocation updates

Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) advised that they have submitted a beaver translocation project licence application and the related documentation would be available on their website shortly. This followed a successful six-week engagement campaign, with approximately 75% of survey respondents positive about beavers returning to the Cairngorms. Detail of the survey results will be made available in due course.

New AP 6: CNPA to circulate an analysis of the consultation feedback.

Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) advised that they have recently been granted a licence for two sites and that consultation with their neighbours is ongoing. FLS also advised that, in collaboration with Trees for Life, consultation is ongoing with landowners in Glen Affric. Plans for this area are currently on hold pending further engagement but they are hoping to submit for a licence next year.

Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority advised that a funding contribution to RSPB Scotland has recently been agreed to assist with the costs of working towards the translocation of a further pair of beavers to the RSPB Loch Lomond reserve which forms part of the wider Loch Lomond NNR.

The group considered how to identify more options for release sites and what is needed to introduce beaver to new catchments. The chair invited suggestions for potential sites, including publicly owned sites.

New AP 7: All to contact NatureScot with suggestions for potential sites, with NatureScot to respond with why or why not these sites are under consideration.

NatureScot advised that they have received a handful of expressions of interest at the moment and are aware of others exploring the idea. There is a partnership agreement in place with the Beaver Trust and the Five Sister’s Zoo to deliver the practical aspects of translation projects with funding support from NatureScot. Hence it is useful for NatureScot to have sight of what projects are expected and when.

NatureScot is also reviewing the Strategic Environment Assessment (SEA) and Habitats Regulations Appraisal (HRA) requirements with a view to streamlining both processes following consideration of the five SEAs and four HRAs produced to date. The public body putting forward the proposal is normally responsible for completing an SEA.

8. Update on flooding impacts

National Farmers Union Scotland (NFUS) opened a discussion on the impacts of recent flooding from Storm Babet, sharing videos and pictures to highlight the resulting damage.

NFUS advised of damaged flood banks, lost crops, and debris in fields as a result of the flooding, and of the associated repair costs and financial penalties for land managers. NFUS raised concerns about the impact of beaver activity contributing to these flood bank breaches and these concerns were seconded by Scottish Land and Estates.

The group reflected on potential causes of the flood bank damage, including beaver presence and the changing climate, and recognised the impact of the damage on lives, livelihoods, and individuals. NFUS requested that this group advocate for compensation for land managers and consider the approach to lethal control in lower lying areas. Lobbying government is not the role of the group, but the chair suggested that the Management and Mitigation sub-group consider the options for protecting flood banks as part of their work.

NFUS raised that some land managers were experiencing difficulty in obtaining beaver licences.

New AP 8: NFUS to speak to NatureScot (Jenny Bryce) and Scottish Land and Estates (Nadia Flaherty) regarding specific examples of licensing issues.

9. Genetics research summary

Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) opened a discussion on the recent genetic research on beavers.

RZSS advised that all UK populations originate from 20-30 beavers, which has resulted in challenges in genetic diversity. This is particularly of concern in Knapdale, where the population is a mix of Norwegian and Tayside (Bavarian) origin and there is a risk that the Norwegian genes could be swamped and effectively lost from the Scottish population. Hence it will be important to monitor and manage the population genetics over time as introducing new animals from elsewhere in Europe is unlikely to be feasible.

To support this monitoring, RZSS would like a bank of genetic information to be available to allow for follow up after translocations. A population management strategy is desirable for informing future translocations.

The group recognised the importance of this type of advice feeding through the sub-groups and the need to consider the wider metapopulation management strategy when considering translocations.

New AP 9: RZSS to follow up in writing with detail of the research to supplement the Knapdale report and inform future translocation considerations.

10. Forward schedule of meetings for the next year

The group noted the proposed dates for the 2024 meetings (25 January, 25 April, 22 August, and 24 October 2024) and were invited to flag major conflicts.

New AP 10: NatureScot to send placeholders for 2024 meeting dates, with details to follow.

11. Arrangements for an SBAG site visit

The chair advised that a suitable date has been difficult to secure for a site visit and proposed arranging the visit to coincide with a future meeting.

The group noted the proposal to hold a site visit on 24 April 2024 ahead of the planned April meeting.

New AP 11: NatureScot to send a placeholder for a site visit on 24 April 2024, with details to follow.

12. AOB

The group noted the forthcoming publication of a research report by UHI on the social, cultural, and economic perceptions of beaver, focused on the Beauly catchment.

Summary of outstanding and new Actions

August AP 2: All sub-groups to aim to meet before the next SBAG meeting on 26 October and advise the secretariat of the list of those to be invited to access the SBAG sharefiles.

August AP 6: NatureScot to review the ToR to ensure consistency.

August AP 7: SBAG to approve the sub-groups ToR.