This summer, Metsähallitus’ inventory experts working to inventory old-growth and natural forests will be working in the municipalities of Enontekiö, Utsjoki and Inari as well as in the northern parts of Sodankylä. Areas to be inventoried include both forested areas and mountain birch groves.
A total of 30 forestry professionals have been hired to carry out inventories in the Sámi Homeland. They will start fieldwork at the beginning of June. The area to be inventoried includes both areas used by forestry and natural economic areas.
Fieldwork by inventory experts will include the assessment of forests that may meet conservation criteria. The age of the trees and the volume of upright and fallen deadwood will be determined with field measurements. Entries will also be made on the prevalence of snags and deadwood trees. Possible signs of earlier forest management methods, such as stumps, ditches and trails, will also be sought visually. The inventories carried out by experts will be based on Government-approved national criteria for old-growth and natural forests.
“Over 90% of the Sámi Homeland consists of state-administered land and water areas. Of the homeland’s land area, 7% comprises multiple-use forests in the scope of forestry activities, which means that forestry is not practised in the majority of the area,” says Hannu Lehtonen, Metsähallitus Forestry Ltd’s Director of Forest Use and Planning.
Natural economic areas are located along the main roads of Northern Lapland between the roads and wilderness areas or protected areas. Natural economic areas are excluded from forestry use, and their main uses include reindeer husbandry, other natural livelihoods, hunting, and fishing.
“Due to their large size, challenging conditions, and difficult accessibility , remote sensing methods have played a key role in the inventory of natural economic areas,” says Head of Land Use Perttu Finne.
Natural economic areas are important both for local communities and from the perspective of national defence.
“For this reason, zones of one kilometre will be sectioned off on both sides of the main road network, and these zones will be excluded from the inventory and protection proposals. This will facilitate, for example, the implementation of local infrastructure projects, the development of urban areas and the needs of national defence,” Finne explains.
The inventory was agreed upon in a cooperation group led by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, which has had representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Ministry of the Environment, Metsähallitus and the Sàpmi group.
Additional information
Metsähallitus Forestry Ltd, Director of Forest Use and Planning Hannu Lehtonen, tel. +358 (0)40 583 6983
Metsähallitus Property Development, Head of Land Use Perttu Finne, perttu.finne@metsa.fi, tel. +358 40 508 8991