IT'S arguably one of the Isle of Wight's most interesting jobs — the new position of beaver recovery project officer.

Settling into the role is Izzie Tween, who joined Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust in August, 2021, to support a potential return of beavers to the Island.

A zoology graduate, Izzie has studied reintroduced beavers in Scotland and gained experience working on a beaver relocation project in the USA.

She first started studying beavers during her undergrad at St Andrew's University, where her dissertation was on the environmental impact of the beaver reintroduction in Scotland.

After graduating, she spent three seasons working in Washington State for the Methow Beaver Project, where she worked with landowners to promote beaver coexistence.

The team live trapped nuisance beavers to prevent persecution and translocated them to places where their dam building would be tolerated and could benefit the ecosystem, especially for improving habitat for Pacific salmon.

While she was in the States she gained her Masters in Environmental Science at Washington State University, where her thesis was on the variables that influence where beavers choose to establish and build dams.

After she graduated, Izzie spent three years working for Utah Division of Wildlife Resources where she worked more generally with aquatic organisms, mostly with fish but also amphibians and molluscs.

She continued to work in beaver impacted landscapes including working to restore abandoned beaver ponds to create spawning habitat for amphibians.

Izzie spoke at length to the County Press to answer concerns about the beaver consultation and potential release.

Residents have been asked if they are for or against the scheme.