Logging of old-growth forest halted in Kärsämäki due to safety concerns

Logging operations in Kärsämäki’s Latvakangas forest have been temporarily suspended by timber company Pölkky over public safety risks, the company’s forest manager Jani Jaakkola told Finnish broadcaster Yle on Monday.

The 8-hectare forest, owned by Kärsämäki parish, has been the subject of protests after the church sold the timber rights to fund a new mortuary. Activists from the environmental group Metsäliike (Forest Movement) are currently at the site in an effort to block the clear-cutting.

Jaakkola stated that the presence of too many people in the area made logging unsafe. The forest, estimated at 120 years old, hosts several endangered species, though Pölkky maintains it is standard commercial woodland. The company had coordinated the harvest with the regional Centre for Economic Development (ELY), claiming endangered species habitats would be spared.

Metsäliike has condemned the planned logging, while Kärsämäki parish has declined to comment.