Metsähallitus began thinning-focused felling south of Aalistunturi in Western Lapland a week ago, in accordance with its advance notice. On Monday 16 January, in the morning, external persons arrived at the logging site and prevented the entrepreneurs from entering the site. Metsähallitus had to ask for police assistance to ensure safe work on the site and the safety of external persons in the area.
The external persons had set up a tent on the winter road leading to the construction site. On Monday, the Game and Fisheries Warden and Regional Manager of Metsähallitus visited the site to discuss the matter with those present. The Game and Fisheries Warden, who supervises areas managed by Metsähallitus and the use of nature in state-owned areas and its legality, told the team that the road must be kept open to ensure safe work.
Metsähallitus decided to ask for police assistance because, despite the Game and Fisheries Warden’s request on Monday, the external persons had not moved the tent from the driveway. The police visited the external persons on Tuesday during the day to issue a request to leave. Later in the evening, based on the situation assessment carried out by the police at the site, external persons were removed from the site in order to ensure the functionality of the access and safe continuation of work.
“Work safety is essential for entrepreneurs and their employees as well as for the external persons on the site,” says Samuli Myllymäki, Regional Director of Metsähallitus Forestry Ltd.
In addition, emergency vehicles must have access to the area. Harvesters should never be approached, and unauthorised access to harvesting sites is prohibited to ensure occupational safety.
Valuable nature sites are excluded from felling
On the south side of Aalistunturi, forestry and thinning-oriented forest management methods are practiced in an area of 400 hectares, in accordance with the instructions of Metsähallitus’ environmental guide. Biodiversity is taken into account.
In recent years, private ecological surveyors have inventoried the Aalistunturi area and provided Metsähallitus with observation data on nature sites and species. Metsähallitus’s experts have also surveyed the nature and species observations in the area. All observations have been reviewed and valuable sites have been taken into consideration in the planning of felling.
Further information on fellings in the bulletin published on 5 January 2023.
Further information
Metsähallitus Forestry Ltd, Regional Director Samuli Myllymäki, samuli.myllymaki@metsa.fi, tel. +358 400 194 645
Metsähallitus is a state enterprise that manages one third of Finland’s land and water areas. Metsähallitus aims to foster the value of nature and shared wealth in a responsible manner across generations. 1,200 Metsähallitus employees all over Finland are responsible for the sustainable use, management and protection of these land and water areas, reconciling different needs and expectations.
Metsähallitus Forestry Ltd not only manages commercial forests but also secures timber production, protects biodiversity, meets customer needs, provides preconditions for the multiple use of forests and promotes climate change mitigation and adaptation.