Beavers Save Czechia Over €1 Million by Building a Dam Instead of Authorities

Beavers have helped save Czech taxpayers €1.2 million by flooding the protected area of a former military training ground where a dam was planned to be built, The New York Times reports.  

Back in 2018, the Czech Republic developed a project to build a dam to protect the Klabava River and its population of rare crayfish from sediment and acidic water from two neighbouring ponds. However, the initiative was delayed by lengthy negotiations over the land, which had long been used by the military as a training ground.  

In the meantime, the beavers began to build their own dam on their own, creating wetlands with pools and canals that were about twice as large as the project's design.  

Later, the animals began to strengthen the gully surrounding the ponds, where they planned to build small dams to prevent water spills. The beavers have already built four structures and continue to work on others.  

As a result, this has saved the Czech budget about 30 million CZK (1.2 million euros).  

According to ecologists, beavers play an important role in water conservation. They create small areas of wetlands where water flows more slowly and is better absorbed into the soil, raising the groundwater level and helping to prevent droughts.