beavers singled out

Very present in the Ardennes, beavers and their dams cause problems of cohabitation with farmers and fishermen. Faced with this situation, MP (LR) Pierre Cordier alerts the government.

He is one of the great builders of the animal world. The beaver, a tireless worker, cuts down trees, erects dams and diverts watercourses. An activity which creates problems of cohabitation in the Ardennes.

“The beaver is a big problem”says Bertand Bour, president of the Approved Association for Fishing and Protection of Aquatic Environments (AAPPMA) of Neufmanil (Ardennes). In recent years, the fisherman has seen a family of beavers settle on the banks of the Goutelle, a watercourse managed by his association. “At the edge of the river, there was a poplar grove. The beavers brought down 100 to 150 trees to build their dams”he notes. An activity which also influences the habitat of trout. “Without the trees, the sun shines through, the water gets too hot, and the trout die”explains Bertand Bour. Fish nutrition is also affected: due to dams, water stagnates, sediments settle at the bottom of the watercourse, and the macro-invertebrates on which fish feed disappear.

In the department, the dams built by beavers cause difficulties with certain owners of poplar groves, but also with farmers, who see their meadows flooded. “There are conflicts of use,” summarizes Olivier Lejeune, hydrologist at the University of Reims-Champagne-Ardenne and researcher at the Gegena laboratory. In thees marshes of Germont in Argonne, he noticed the presence of around twenty beavers. “Their works make it possible to raise the water level, which is positive for the peat bog. But it also has a negative impact for neighboring farmers. When the fields are flooded, the animals wade in the water, which is conducive to the development of diseases.

Faced with the damage caused by beavers, the MP (LR) for the Ardennes Pierre Cordier calls on the Minister of Ecological Transition. In a written question to the National Assembly on Tuesday January 14, he asks “if the Government will give clear instructions to prefects so that beaver populations are better regulated to allow foresters to protect their trees from destruction.”

The management of European beavers is not simple, because the species has been protected since 1968 throughout the national territory. Long hunted for its fur or its meat, the species almost disappeared at the beginning of the 20th century, and is now re-colonizing its environments. “Touching the beaver, its habitat and its dams is an offense”recalls Laurine Ledoux, head of departmental service of the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB) in the Ardennes. A farmer from Saône-et-Loire recently paid the price: the man was pursued by an investigation carried out by the OFB, after being seen removing a beaver's dam which was causing flooding of his field. The investigation was finally closed.

“Regularly, beaver dams are illegally destroyed by farmers using excavators,” continues Olivier Lejeune. However, solutions exist and are being implemented in certain areas of Champagne-Ardenne. “In Argonne Ardennes, there is a list of municipalities for which exemptions are possible. When this is the case, managers are then authorized to lower the dams without destroying them to let the water flow,” explains Laurine Ledoux . The role of the OFB is then to verify that the development has been carried out correctly.

It is also forbidden to touch beaver dams, even if they have left the area. A problem for Bertrand Bour: recently, he noticed that the beaver family on the banks of the Goutelle seemed to have left. “Their dams are therefore no longer maintained, and could break, which could cause problems for the village bridges located upstream.”