Beavers saved Czech Republic over $1M on infrastructure project

Leave it to beavers.Beavers saved the government of the Czech Republic over $1 million on an ill-fated infrastructure project by doing what they do best — building a dam.Officials in the Brdy region of the European country had secured $1.2 million in funding for a new dam that was first planned seven years ago for an area under environmental protection — but the project stalled due to trouble obtaining building permits, Radio Prague International reported.While officials twiddled their thumbs, a colony of eight beavers cut right through the bureaucratic red tape and got to work constructing several dams, creating a natural wetland — exactly what their human cohabitants were trying to achieve.“The Military Forest Management and Vltava River Basin were negotiating with each other to set up the project and address issues regarding ownership of land,” zoologist Jiri Vlček told the outlet.“The beavers beat them to it, saving us CZK 30 million.They built the dams without any project documentation — and for free,” the expert added.The dams popped up seemingly overnight — with local experts suggesting the rodential construction project could have been completed in as few as a couple of days.To boot, the dams were ideally placed for preserving the wetland.“Beavers always know best.

The places where they build dams are always chosen just right — better than when we design it on paper,” said Jaroslav Obermajer, head of the Central Bohemian office of the Czech Nature and Landscape Protection Agency.The wetland that was created by the dams will help both the beaver colony and the Czech natives as well as a plethora of other species that will call the biome their home — including insects, fish, amphibians, and birds.Eurasian beavers were once hunted to near extinction but have seen a resurgence in recent decades across the continent, according to National Geographic....