The Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation acquired well over 18 more hectares of the Heinineva bog in Alajärvi in May 2013. The new area includes a small forest-covered islet on the northeast side.
Together with the Ostrobothnia conservation district, the Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation started a shared campaign for quagmires in the spring of 2012.
The first purchase took place as early as in December, and it was about Heinisuo. The recent deal will make the area grow up to 35 hectares.
Heinineva in Alajärvi is one of the most valuable unprotected bogs in the Ostrobothnia region. About 150 hectares of the area is not covered by trees. Nearly half of all the nature types appearing there are endangered.
Heinineva provides a home for a valuable bird population as well. Those nesting in the area include the whooper swan, the crane, the common tern as well as the European herring gull, the common gull, and the little gull. What also tells about the precious value of the area is the fact that the Jack snipe and the willow grouse, which have become endangered species south of Lapland, have also found a nesting site in the area.
Photo: Teemu Tuovinen.
