Destruction of snowy taiga forests
near Ulvinsalo strict nature reserve
in Kainuu area close to the Russian border
December 1996

Finnish state enterprise Forest and Park Service (FPS) logging old-growth taiga forests

- Suggestions made by nature protection unit of FPS itself did not help

Ulvinsalo strict nature reserve close to the Russian border is one of the most valuable nature protection areas in Finland. Ulvinsalo and forests around it are situated in district of Kainuu, in municipality of Kuhmo.

Around the nature reserve there still are some areas of old-growth forest left - unprotected. The fragments of these valuable forests are surrounded by large clearcut-areas and plantations of spruce and pine.

The Forest and Park Service (FPS), which manages the state-owned forests in Finland, is now logging the very last pieces of these old-groth taiga forests. These photos are taken in December 1996.

Heavy machinery used in loggings and road construction.

The digger machine was needed because of building a forest road through mire to a small island of forest.

FPS made loggings in a way which is not in harmony with their own "nature friendly"-logging practises. Loggings took place in such parts of forests which had been considered to left outside of loggings by the nature protection unit of FPS itself!

There are still hundreds of hectares state-owned old-growth taiga forests left in Ulvinsalo area. With support of many NGO`s around the globe, Finnish NGO`s are demanding that the Finnish state should leave them untouched, but the authorities are against new protection plans.