The Uusimaa ELY Centre requests a report that must show, among other things, the number of trees felled by species and the amount of groundwood left in the area.
The Uusimaa Environment Centre asks Espoo to report on forestry work in the Träskända Manor Park nature reserve. The area was felled under contract to the city because of spruce trees killed by a bookworm and the safety concerns they raised.
A school and two kindergartens are located next to the nature reserve.
The felling was carried out during the Christmas holidays, between 27.12.2022 and 3.1.2023. The City of Espoo continued to move the felled trunks outside the nature reserve, so that the tall trunks stacked in the immediate vicinity of the kindergarten and school would not pose a danger to people walking in the area. The plan was also to return some of the stumps back to the protected area at a later date as ground hops.
The Ely center requires a report on the implementation, guidance and communication of logging. The report must include as accurate information as possible on the amount of trees felled in the area by tree species and degree of roughness, as well as an estimate of how much of the felled wood was left or returned to the nature reserve after the work was finished as ground wood.
The city must tell how the contractor who carried out the felling was instructed before starting the work and/or during the work in the terrain. The city also wants an assessment on whether all the felled trees were found to be dangerous for users of the area. If the trees were felled for other reasons, they must be broken down according to the number of trees felled.
Espoo must also record in the report how users of the area were informed about the logging work, and why the Espoo Environmental Protection Association was not informed about the matter in advance as agreed.
Uusimaa’s Ely-Keskuto is waiting for an explanation without delay, when the placement of the frames back in the terrain is finished.
Field visit measures already in November
On November 18, Ely Center and the city conducted a site survey in the area, where measures were agreed upon. According to it, felling of dead trees and trees at risk of falling can be carried out in the nature reserve, as permitted by the valid management and use plan. The time was determined to be the school vacation time, and at the same time a notification to the Espoo Environmental Association was required.
On January 3, the Espoo Environmental Association submitted a request for an investigation to the police regarding logging in the Träskända nature reserve. The next day, the ely center was asked to stop the felling and removal of trees from the area and to conduct an inspection in the area.