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«I do understand nature conservation, but it cannot mean we let an entire forest massif die out,» complains Pedassaare villager Terje Tomperk. Rules not allowing them to clean the forest floor.
At the tip of Cape Pedassaare, tree trunks lie criss-crossed on the forest floor. Some felled by fierce winds, recently. Others scattered for a long time.
Terje Tomperk, having spent the last 40 summers at Pedassaare, well remembers the picturesque park adorning the cape. Only the fallen trees cleaned away by village folks, touching nothing else. «Just to keep diseases from spreading,» the lady explains.
Now, the untidiness of forest floor is not due to laziness of the locals – rather, it is the Lahemaa National Park rules, including Pedassaare: whatever falls, must lay there forever. Only pathways are to be kept passable.
According to Ms Tomperk, they proposed to Environmental Board, last year, that villagers would gather the fallen trees into heaps – for the board to distribute, to those in need. The answer was «no».
The forest floor not cleaned for a long time now, the locals fear the entire massif will die out due to disease. «Borer at work,» Ms Tomperk points out. And: the thinner the forest becomes, the more big old trees felled by any strong wind.
«Meaning – in ten years time, this will be scrubland,» she sighs, not understanding why the forest has to be treated this way – after centuries of being cared for, by humans.
The fallen and dried trees are also apt to catch fire. Should it be sparked, winds just «right», the entire village is endangered. «Here, at cape tip, the winds are whirling, suddenly shifting direction,» Ms Tomperk relates, with horror remembering the fire raging after a summertime-visitor decided to burn dead grass – not realising that blasts may momentarily come from the sea.
The untidy forest floor also bothers Lobi village, its elder Merike Voore expressing their desire for pretty and orderly surroundings – while realising it is the special management zone. The village, indeed, being semi-reservation – when birds are nesting, humans are not supposed to come near certain places. When it comes to Lahemaa’s latest protection rules, she said it would be nice to even be allowed to clean up the roadsides.
Riina Kotter, Environmental Board’s Viru region protection planning specialist, said that no forest notifications have been issued to them by Pedassaare dwellers, for cutting. In case of forest damage, however, corresponding notices are to be filed to the Board, whereby the Board will initiate and perform forest protection expert assessment.
Ms Kotter, however, pointed out that inventory of the future Lahemaa special management zones, in 2011, clearly underlined damage and disease mainly spreading in areas impacted by humans i.e. locations where the forests had been managed.
With the new zones, this has been taken into consideration, these areas now been included in special management zones – where maintenance is allowed pursuant to management plan only.
«Thus, if needed, with permission by manager, nature may be helped to be restored, significant damage liquidated, diseases blocked. Sanitary cutting is allowed in all limited management zones,» assured Ms Kotter.
Neither will Environment Board hinder anybody from putting a stop to dangerous situations. «We have granted permissions for removal of dangerous trees from vicinity of buildings, windthrows to be cleared away in areas frequently visited,» added the expert.