For years, authorities debated building a barrier to protect the Klabava River, south of Prague, from sediment and acidic water spilling from nearby ponds. A dam would have solved the problem, but the project stalled due to financial and bureaucratic problems since 2018.

The dam project, drafted in 2018 and based on a former military training site south of Prague, had been delayed by land negotiations. Local beavers built several dams, saving the government more than one million euros.

Beavers have saved the Czech government and its citizens $1.2 million, by flooding an area, where a dam was planned.

After plans stalled for a new dam in the Czech Republic, eight beavers saved the day seemingly overnight. “At this point, nothing that beavers do surprises me.”

Despite a seven-year planning process and successfully securing the funding, the Czech Republic’s plans to build a new dam in the Brdy region came to a standstill as authorities struggled to acquire building permits. However, it was the arrival of eight hard-working beavers that finally got the job done.

The beavers chose to build their dam in a drainage canal created by the military on a former training ground in the Brdy region. This area had been causing headaches for local environmentalists due to its artificial drainage system,

Beavers have saved Czech taxpayers over €1 million by flooding a protected former army training site where a long-stalled dam was planned, according to a conservation official.