The Government is giving the green light to wild releases of beavers in England, in a "critical milestone" for efforts to restore nature.
A long-awaited licensing system has been launched for releasing beavers - whose dams, canals and ponds boost wildlife and protect against floods and droughts - into the countryside, with the first wild reintroduction expected soon.
The Government is also setting out support for landowners and farmers who make space for the animals on their land, and says it will develop a long-term plan for managing the semi-aquatic animals in the wild.
Beavers, a "keystone species" who shape their natural environment, vanished from Britain more than 400 years ago as a result of hunting for their pelts, meat and glands.
They have made their way back to England's rivers, through escapes from enclosures and illegal releases, and were given legal protection in 2022.
They have also been introduced to a large number of fenced wetland and river sites.
But conservationists have long called for licensed wild returns to the wider English countryside, to boost wildlife in the UK - considered one of the most nature-depleted countries on Earth - and deliver benefits to people.
Evidence, including from a five-year trial of beavers living wild on the River Otter in Devon, shows the dams, ponds and wetlands they create boost a host of other wildlife, from threatened water voles to dragonflies.
They also slow the flow of water, reducing the risk of flooding downstream, and can store water in the landscape during drought, as well as purifying polluted river systems, removing sediment and storing carbon.
But there have been concerns about the impact of beavers flooding roads, properties and farmland, with National Farmers' Union (NFU) president Tom Bradshaw calling for farmers to be allowed to use "lethal control" of the animals if they "end up in the wrong place".
The Environment Department (Defra) said the return of beavers would be carefully managed to avoid impacts on food production and infrastructure.
Well-managed beaver releases would be allowed at a "measured pace", in high-benefit, low-risk projects, where communities are helped to adapt to living with beavers.
Projects will need to have a 10-year plan in place to support the return of beavers into a landscape, officials said.
Here are the other moves to establish populations of animals that were once native.
Ospreys
The birds became extinct in England more than 150 years ago but are now re-established after an intensive effort at Rutland Water - where a 25-year programme has flourished.
Now that 200 chicks have hatched, the bird could well become a common sight once more in other parts of the country.
Wolves
Scientists have proposed reintroducing wolves to the Scottish Highlands to provide a predator to the red deer which are eating tree saplings.
University of Leeds researchers have said that 167 wolves, which have not been seen in Scotland for 250 years, could allow vital tree regeneration to help fight the climate crisis.
Professor Dominick Spracklen told PA that the trees could take in and store 1m tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.
“There is an increasing acknowledgment that the climate and biodiversity crises cannot be managed in isolation,” he said on Monday.
“We need to look at the potential role of natural processes such as the reintroduction of species to recover our degraded ecosystems and these in turn can deliver co-benefits for climate and nature recovery.”
Frogs
England’s rarest amphibian, the northern pool frog is now becoming re-established in Norfolk - which was its final hotspot 20 years back when it was threatened with extinction.
A large-scale tadpole project has helped to increase frog numbers and the species plays an important part in helping the local ecosystem to thrive.
Bison
An ambitious project in Kent has seen the European bison gradually become established in an increasingly large reserve near Canterbury. The project began in 2022 and a small herd is now thriving in the countryside.
A spokesman for the project said: “Wilder Blean aims to bring transformational change through a controlled trial with European bison; a missing keystone species that is able to naturally manage woodlands. Other herbivores including horses, pigs and cattle will be reintroduced to the woodland to restore natural processes and create a thriving mosaic of habitats for wildlife.”
Beavers
Bringing the Eurasian beaver back has been another ambition of Rewilding Britain.
“Through the building of dams, the digging of canals, and the creation of dead wood, beavers create and maintain habitats where an abundance and diversity of life can flourish,” promoters say.
In 2021, the National Trust named the first beaver kit to be born in Exmoor in 400 years Marcus after Rashford, the footballer, following a public vote.
Oysters
The charity Seawilding has committed to reintroducing hundreds of thousands of oysters, which have all but disappeared from British coastlines.
Oysters play a vital role in creating habitats for fish, improving water quality, removing nitrogen from the water and capturing carbon, states the charity.
