Logging operations in Kiihtelysvaara, Finland, suspended due to endangered flying squirrel observations

Logging operations that were suspended last week in Kiihtelysvaara, part of Joensuu, will not resume until at least next spring, due to observations of the endangered flying squirrel. UPM, the forestry company involved, is conducting new assessments mandated by the environmental authority regarding the presence of these small mammals. However, snowfall has hindered the progress of these studies.

Markus Häikiö, a forestry customer director at UPM, stated that the assessment will be completed in the spring, which is generally a more suitable time for such activities. He emphasized that no further operations will continue in the area until the studies are concluded.

Key to understanding the flying squirrel’s habitat are the droppings they leave behind, which are difficult to detect under snow coverage. Although logging activities had already been restricted in the region due to the flying squirrel, new observations by a volunteer nature mapper last week indicated that the habitat of this species may still be impacted by upcoming logging.

Originally, forestry work was planned for an area of approximately 70 hectares.

The flying squirrel is a strictly protected species, and its breeding and resting sites must not be destroyed or degraded under the law. Pirkko Siikamäki, the head of the Environment and Natural Resources unit at the North Karelia environmental authority, visited the logging site for a monitoring check. She mentioned that they are now awaiting further information and a plan from UPM before any logging can resume. Based on current information, the authority has not initiated any further actions but will report to the police if there are suspicions of violations against conservation laws.