In March 2023, the Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation purchased this remote 81-hectare forest area located in Nellim in Inari. Keskimmäinen Kivijärvi forest is part of an old reindeer farm. In the eastern part of the forest there is an area of approximately 15 hectares which was previously in commercial use, but apart from that, the forest is mainly untouched by the axe. Rocky moors slope down towards the wild Keskimmäinen Kivijärvi. Among the two-hundred-year-old pine trees there are scattered birches and the occasional aspen. There are many fallen dead trees, and here and there one can see old tree stumps left by forest fires.

Like Keskimmäinen Kivijärvi, the majority of Finland’s remaining unprotected natural forests are located in Upper Lapland. These areas play a vital part in preserving some of our forest species. Keskimmäinen Kivijärvi forest is being protected as part of the Let’s save the old-growth forests of Upper Lapland campaign, which was launched in spring 2022.