Riverfront area in Taivalkoski, near Metsäkylä village. The natural values of the forest are very versatile: Lippamonsuvanto spreads out over both shores of river Korvuanjoki and includes plenty of undeveloped shoreline. The varied area includes lush mixed forest, flood plain forest, spruce bog, pine bog, water meadow and also the river’s floodway.

A hundred-year-old spruce wood, as well as large aspen and pussy willow, grows in the southern part of Lippamonsuvanto, on the eastern shore of the river. On the western shore, one can find impressive ancient and flat-topped pine trees. There is plenty of decayed wood in the area.

Lippamonsuvanto’s fauna is also varied. Willow tits and woodpeckers nest in the area, and it is also part of the territory of a golden eagle. The area is also a beaver habitat. Trees felled by beavers can be found along the shores at both ends of the area. On the western shore, we found an incredible display: an approximately sixty metre long, recent beaver dam, with one end placed in a spring which the dam is causing to overflow.

The Korvuanjoki river has retained a natural population of freshwater pearl mussel, which suffered badly from the clearing for log floating and the forest drainage of the past. Korvuanjoki is included in the EU’s Life Nature project, which aims to restore rivers containing freshwater pearl mussel. Now that Lippamonsuvanto has been protected by the Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation, the freshwater pearl mussel and the other species living in the area will be able to live in peace.