Snowchange
02/07/2025
Major Funding for Wild Forest Reindeer in Finland
Finland has secured substantial EU LIFE funding to support the conservation and population management of the Finnish wild forest reindeer (Rangifer tarandus fennicus), a native subspecies of the circumpolarly distributed reindeer. The seven-year project, LIFEline4Fennicus, aims to strengthen the long-term viability of the population through targeted conservation measures.
Starting in 2026, the project builds on the updated conservation and management plan for the wild forest reindeer and continues the work of the earlier WildForestReideerLIFE project, which concluded in 2023. The new project introduces a wide range of conservation actions to safeguard the future of this forest dwelling subspecies.
“The backbone of the project consists of reinforcements in Lauhanvuori and Seitseminen National Parks and a reintroduction in Tiilikkajärvi National Park. Reinforcements support the existing population, while reintroduction brings the species back to its former range”, says Milla Niemi, senior specialist at Metsähallitus and lead author of the funding proposal.
“We will also continue and expand our collaboration with reindeer herding cooperatives to protect the genetic integrity of the wild forest reindeer, improve our understanding of its habitat use, and restore extensive areas of suitable habitat in preparation for its possible later return to North Karelia,” she adds.
In addition to proven methods, the project will also pioneer new approaches. These include the development of assisted reproductive technologies for the wild forest reindeer and the biobanking of genetic material.
“This will help maintain the genetic diversity of the captive population and ensure the availability of suitable founder individuals for future reinforcements and reintroductions,” Niemi explains. The new techniques will also provide important safeguards in the event of a sudden population decline, such as one caused by a disease outbreak.
The wild forest reindeer once ranged widely across Finland and was found throughout the country as recently as the 17th century. By the 1920s, however, it had been hunted to extinction within national borders. A natural recovery began in the 1950s, enabled by a remnant population that had survived just across the eastern border. Today, the subspecies occurs in Finland and parts of northwestern Russia. The total global population is estimated at around 5,000 individuals, with approximately 3,000 living in Finland, where the main threats to the species include habitat fragmentation, predation by large carnivores, and traffic. In Russia, poaching has been a serious concern.
The LIFEline4Fennicus project is coordinated by Metsähallitus, Parks & Wildlife Finland. Project partners include the Natural Resources Institute Finland, Snowchange Cooperative, Korkeasaari Zoo, and Ranua Wildlife Park. In addition to the EU LIFE Programme, the project is supported by the Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Ministry of the Environment, the European Wildlife Comeback Fund, the Raija and Ossi Tuuliainen Foundation, and the participating organisations themselves. The total budget is approximately EUR 9.55 million, of which 60 % is covered by EU funding.
The LIFE Programme is the European Union’s funding instrument for the environment and climate action. It supports nature conservation projects and the implementation of EU environmental policy.
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Snowchange
30/06/2025
Ilvesmaa-Leväkangas is Central to Regional Biodiversity
One of the highlights of the year so far is the Siikajoki natural forests and peatlands complex – Ilvesmaa and Leväkangas. They are located in northwestern Finland and constitute some of the only natural intact landscape-level sites in the region of Northern Ostrobothia.
Ilvesmaa-Leväkangas natural forests and peatlands are approximately 100 hectares total area. Whilst some logging has taken place in recent decades, these sites have preserved much of their natural characteristics. They are currently inventoried for species and ecosystem types.
They constitute a very important regional natural intact landscape-level sites in Siikajoki and are therefore of vital importance in the area of North Ostrobothia.
Snowchange
08/06/2025
YLE Reports on the Rewilding Programme
National broadcaster YLE reported recently on the Landscape Rewilding Programme.
Link available below.
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Snowchange
27/05/2025
Traditional Knowledge and Conservation Priorities of Eurasian Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris)
A new science paper highlights the status and trends as well as previously unknown TEK of squirrel.
The Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) has played an important role in Finnish traditional culture and livelihoods since pre-historic times. This paper analyzes the current role, status, and trends of the red squirrel using both available scientific evidence and testimonies from oral historians who were immersed in Finland's boreal hunting societies during the mid-1900s.
The convergence of observations points to the decline of this iconic mammal of northern forests and increased migration to urban habitats. Red squirrels are not currently seen as being of great relevance to conservation efforts, despite their central role in spreading seeds and in boreal predator–prey food chains.
If the animal is lost from Finland's remaining boreal timber forests, their absence may have consequences that are not yet understood. This article contains previously unavailable cultural knowledge of the Eurasian red squirrel, directly curated by knowledge holders. It presents an important nexus of different ways of knowing.
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Snowchange
29/04/2025
A New Peatland Restoration Atlas Released to Support Polish And Eastern European Restoration
Snowchange participates in a Nordic project to support Polish and Ukrainian efforts to boost restoration in the region. A recent field visit collected experts from three countries and saw the release of the much-anticipated "Peatland Restoration Atlas" developed by Snowchange for the partners.
The Nordic Council funded project "Nature-based solutions in open wetlands restoration for biodiversity, water quality improvement and climate mitigation" has partners in Poland, Ukraine and Finland. It is coordinated by Ogólnopolskie Towarzystwo Ochrony Ptaków - OTOP, a birding organization from Poland.
Snowchange helped to develop the "Peatland Restoration Atlas" (link below) for the Ukrainian and Polish partners. On a recent field visit several restoration sites were discussed between project partners, and the trip included visits to Bagno Bubnów meadow restoration, Holeszów re-wetting site and several more including national parks in Poland.
The Atlas itself contains already the first mapped sites and includes for example highlights such as
Haidamatske Swamp Nature reserve
The Haidamatske Swamp Reserve, covering 751.7 hectares in the Zheryvskyi and Obukhivetskyi forestry districts, holds both natural and historical significance. It served as a shelter for Haidamaka bands in the 18th century and later for partisans during wartime conflicts. The reserve features mixed pine-oak forests, raised bogs, and a diverse array of plant and animal species, including rare and protected flora like Pasque flower and Early-purple orchid, and fauna such as the European pond turtle and the Eurasian lynx. The area is home to unique ecosystems, including sphagnum bogs, but faces potential threats from logging and drainage. Efforts are underway to monitor and protect this important site through ongoing Environmental Impact Assessments.
Irdyn Swamp
Irdyn Swamp, located in Ukraine's Cherkasy region, is a crucial wetland ecosystem that shelters a wide variety of protected species. The swamp, which was historically used for peat extraction, is now a candidate for national park status due to its biodiversity. It is home to rare species such as the red-bellied toad (Bombina bombina), white stork (Ciconia ciconia), Apollo butterfly (Parnassius mnemosyne), and the large oak longhorn beetle (Cerambyx cerdo). In total, over 250 populations of protected species have been recorded here, with many listed in the Red Book of Ukraine and the IUCN Red List. Since 2019, the Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group has been advocating for the establishment of the "Irdynske" National Nature Park, which will play a key role in preserving these species and the natural heritage of the region.
The project will conclude in the Autumn with further reporting on results of the Atlas.
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Snowchange
17/04/2025
The Skolt Sámi are rewilding the Näätämö River to protect their way of life
In Finland's far north, a collaborative approach encompassing Indigenous knowledge with Western science is helping to restore vital habitat for fish – and people.
Linking the boreal forests of Finland with Norway’s Arctic fjords, the River Näätämö eddies through a fast-changing landscape. The Arctic is warming four times faster than the global average, and Atlantic salmon are vanishing from its shores.
The Näätämö has historically been rich in salmon, trout, grayling and a variety of whitefish, which spawn in the deep lakes and shale banks of its catchment and grow to adulthood in its meanders shaded by birch, spruce and pine. These fish populations – and the ecosystem that sustains them – represent one of Europe’s last areas of relatively intact wilderness. The Näätämö also sustains the Skolt Sámi, an Indigenous people who have lived in Europe’s far north for more than 10 millennia. While the Sámi are widely associated with reindeer herding, the existence of many communities is interwoven with the great salmon migrations of the North Atlantic.
The past half century has brought significant change to the Näätämö catchment. The region is on the forefront of the climate crisis, with warming waters and increased pollution disrupting the patterns of nature around which Sámi life has evolved. Salmon in the river have become smaller both in number and in size, and other fish populations have declined. This has been compounded by local industry, which has altered the very shape and flow of the river.
In the face of this, the Skolt Sámi are acting to protect the Näätämö and their way of life. In conjunction with Snowchange, a co-operative that works with Arctic Indigenous communities on the interconnecting issues of biodiversity, cultural tradition and climate change, they have begun to rewild the Näätämö, using Sámi knowledge to restore the river with a rare degree of fealty to its recent past.
A new English news article reviews over 15 years of restoration and rewilding work with the Skolt Sámi, available on the link.
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Snowchange
14/04/2025
Haarasuo Protected
Haarasuo, a peatland in Suomussalmi and a celebration site for Finnair, is now formally protected.
The conservation action supports extremely endangered freshwater mussels and biodiversity in Suomussalmi, Northeastern Finland.
Snowchange
07/04/2025
Kuumunsuo Officially Protected
Today the Center for the Environment, Transportation and Commerce - Kainuu in Finland officially protected Kuumunsuo, one of the wild forest reindeer sites in Eastern Finland as a conservation area.
The designation offers legal protection of the site which is totaling 44 hectares. The Center says that the site is of national relevance as a connectivity site between already protected sites and as habitat for the wild forest reindeer.
Snowchange
30/03/2025
Two Large Arctic Circle Peatlands Define the Late Winter
Two large Arctic Circle peatlands - Miehinkäaapa in Salla and Korppiaapa in Sodankylä - defined the late winter rewilding breakthroughs, totaling over 550 hectares.
Korppiaapa is close to Sodankylä and is over 300 hectares, making it a large single peatland close to the protected Viiankiaapa. Miehinkäaapa in Salla is over 200 hectares and important site close to several EU Nature 2000 sites. Both are significant bird migratory sites as well.
Snowchange
18/02/2025
New over 50 hectares Rewilding Area for the Wild Forest Reindeer with Sotkamo Municipality
Snowchange and the Sotkamo Municipality have agreed on a collaboration totaling over 50 hectares of critically important habitat for the wild forest reindeer.
Today the municipality of Sotkamo in Eastern Finland and Snowchange have signed a rewilding agreement to support wild forest reindeer. The joint operational area is located in Tipasoja village. At its core is a 26,48 hectares Snowchange owned rewilding site Lahtela. Sotkamo municipality has now agreed to provide additional adjacent area for rewilding as the area is critically important for the winter pastures of the wild forest reindeer. The agreement lasts in its initial form until 2045.
