By AFP -Agence france Presse
Dam fine: beavers save Czech treasury $1 million
Beavers have saved Czech taxpayers $1 million by flooding a former army training site where a long-stalled dam was planned, a conservation official said on Tuesday.
Among nature's great engineers, beavers and their inventions have long been championed by environmentalists for their ability to protect against flooding, improve water quality, and encourage wildlife.
The authorities hoped to build a barrier to protect the Klabava River and its population of critically endangered crayfish from sediment and acidic water overflowing from two nearby lakes.
As a bonus, this would turn a part of this protected area south of the capital Prague into a nature-rich wetland.
First drawn up in 2018, the project had a building permit but was delayed by negotiations over the land, which was long used by the military as a training ground.
However, before the diggers got the green light to start digging, the herbivorous rodents got to work building their dam.
“They've built a swamp with pools and canals,” Bohumil Fiser, from the Czech Nature Conservation Agency, told AFP.
“The area is about twice as big as planned.”
- 'Full service'
The Beaver family then moved on to a ravine that surrounded the ponds, in which conservationists wanted to build small dams to allow for the overflow that would help flood the area.
So far, the beavers have built at least four dams in the ravine and are working on others.
“We were only discussing (building the dams in the ravines) with the water company and the forestry company that owns the land,” said Fiser, who manages the area.
Fiser said that the estimated savings for the Czech exchequer amounted to around 30 million Czech crowns (1.2 million dollars).
“It's a complete service, the beavers are fantastic, and, when they're in an area where they can't cause damage, they do a brilliant job,” he said.
Despite the good that beavers do to the land around them, the furry mammals have their critics, with farmers and others complaining about the destruction they cause by felling trees.
But all the farmers whose land could be at risk are located far from the site, which was declared a protected area in 2016.
“We don't expect any conflict with the beaver in the next 10 years,” added Fiser.
frj/kym/sbk
Comments