### “Minhauzens 2023” Hunters' Festival in Mētriena. On 4 and 5 August, when all hunters' paths will lead to the Mētriena open-air stage.

The open competition for the position of Director General of the State Forest Service (VMD) has concluded. Arvīds Ozols has been named the winner.

 

AS “Latvijas valsts meži” (LVM) invites potential service providers to submit their bids by 22 August for the open competition “Provision of forest regeneration, tending, and protection services in 2024 and 2025”. Both existing and potential service providers with or without experience in forestry work are welcome to submit bids. Candidates can prepare and submit their applications from any region of Latvia, choosing the service location and type of work best suited to them.

 

From 16 to 20 July, representatives from the Ukrainian state forest management company “Ukrainas Meži” (DP “Lisi Ukrayiny”) from the Volyn region visited Latvia to explore the country's forestry sector and gain experience to improve their own company's operations. During the visit, the “Ukrainas Meži” delegation also visited AS “Latvijas valsts meži” (LVM) Mazsili forest nursery, the Renda pine cone kiln, and a wood chip warehouse in Kuldīga.

 

The forestry sector is justifiably considered the pillar of our exports. With the war started by Russia, the demand for timber rose sharply, driving up prices as well. By the middle of last year, forest owners and processors and traders of the harvested material experienced record profits, as exports grew by almost 50%, only cooling down towards the second half of the year with total export figures exceeding 4 billion euros.

 

During the implementation of the investment project, the 3rd stage of the renovation of the Forest Faculty's study building premises is planned to ensure modern and up-to-date conditions for students and academic staff, as well as the development of the territory adjacent to the Forest Faculty to ensure its accessibility to the public and provide public education.

 

 

Mārtiņš Trons, Zemnieku Saeima

 

In Latvia, Zemnieku saeima, the Forest Owners Association, and 15 other agricultural sector organisations opposed the draft regulation, pointing out that it would deal an “unprecedented blow to the economy, food security, and rural habitation”. The organisations also used specific arguments to justify their point of view, but Re:Check concluded that several of them were incorrect and misleading.

 

 

Applications are now open for the Natura 2000 award. It provides an excellent opportunity to showcase success stories in nature conservation. Apply by 29 September.

 

Meadowsweet, burning bush, red fescue, narrow-leaved meadow grass, and other natural meadow plants that bloomed in mid-June in the “Ziemeļgauja” protected landscape area confirm that the meadow restoration work carried out by AS “Latvijas valsts meži” (LVM) is successful. In total, LVM is carrying out the restoration of natural grasslands – a habitat rare in Europe – over a total area of 142 hectares in five locations across Latvia, but the largest volume of restoration, over 100 hectares, has been carried out in the “Ziemeļgauja” territory.

 

While conducting monitoring of lesser spotted eagles, Uģis Bergmanis, senior environmental expert and ornithologist at AS “Latvijas valsts meži” (LVM), discovered a particularly rare case in one of the six sample plots in Latvia, in the vicinity of Murmastiene – he observed two young eagles in a single nest.

 

Environmental experts have acknowledged that it has been proven that there are a number of factors that provoke practically unpredictable cataclysms, and one of these factors is human activity. The experts mentioned that such factors can also include large wind turbines, the foundations of which will also extend underground, reaching geological structures subject to karst processes.

 

While the season for typically edible mushrooms in the forests is only just beginning, in the forests near Dagda in the South Latgale region, AS “Latvijas valsts meži” (LVM) senior environmental expert Gaidis Grandāns, while performing his daily duties, found a mushroom species that is very rare throughout Latvia – the dark-scaly shield Pluteus umbrosus.

 

Horseflies are distinct heat-lovers, so their presence is fully felt mainly only when the day has properly warmed up. The hotter and sunnier the day, the more aggressive the horseflies become. These creatures also like moisture. Horseflies are typical day-active animals, so their activity is only expressed during the daylight hours. Therefore, at night and on days when the weather is too cool or dry, horseflies wait.

 

The magnet of the nearly 312-hectare “Ogres Zilie kalni” nature park is the observation tower, which is located at the highest point of the hills and rises to a height of 30 metres, reports ReTV.

 

What are the solutions? Sinking into a mild depression is convenient (there is nothing to do, as it will be bad anyway), but uninteresting. The most sensible thing would be to reduce consumption, but that, in my opinion, is so impossible that there is no point in looking at the scenario of giving up accustomed comfort. In my view, not lying to yourself means realizing that humans over the last few centuries have, by joint efforts, done such mighty things that the only choice is between lesser evils.

 

 

Since many farmers in Latvia are engaged in beekeeping, with most being small honey producers, one of the best solutions is cooperation. This is proven by the operations of the cooperative society Kurland Honey, the cooperative society Medotava, as well as the beekeeping cooperative society Siguldas Medus. It should be taken into account that there is still room for new cooperative societies in Latvia. In the future, in order to be able to address larger-scale tasks both in Latvia and in foreign markets, associations of cooperative societies could be formed.

 

In his daily life, Gatis Graudužis cares for approximately 100 colonies. He shares his knowledge and talks about beekeeping to children, and together with his spouse, he also makes wax candles and creates added value for bee products. Overall, the first half of this year has been favourable for bee colonies, and the bees in the apiaries are doing well.

 

Now the beekeeper is forced to pay a whole year's worth of honey earnings in fines. Upon contacting the police, he did not receive any sympathy. “They said that the fine cannot be appealed or reduced; it can only be split into several payments,” says Jānis.

 

 

 

For the second time in Latvia, Daugavpils University, in cooperation with the State Education Development Agency of the Republic of Latvia, is organising this Bryology summer school. The aim of the summer school is to educate students from different countries in moss identification, ecology, nature conservation, and the practical use of moss in the context of Latvian history and culture. By visiting several locations in Latgale, including Preiļi Park, students acquire skills and knowledge about mosses both through expeditions and in laboratory work, lectures, and by performing various practical tasks. The coordinator of the Bryology summer school is Dr. biol. Anna Mežaka, who has previously researched the mosses and lichens found in Preiļi Park.

 

During the expedition to Lake Riča, the young people studied insects and, on the edge of a nearby meadow, saw the European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis (L.)) – it is a very rare opportunity to see this reptile in the wild.

 

 

The hunting season for red deer cows and calves begins on 15 July. During the first month of the season, the Service invites hunters to observe the principle of selection and hunt only red deer calves or red deer cows that do not have calves. The State Forest Service points out that red deer calves are permitted to be hunted using not only a calf hunting permit but also an adult stag or cow hunting permit. Red deer cows may be hunted until 31 January, and calves – until 31 March.

The beaver and muskrat hunting season also begins on 15 July and will continue until 15 April, but in drainage systems, the hunting period for beavers and muskrats has been extended – from 15 July to 30 April.

 

Summer is the most dangerous time, when African Swine Fever (ASF) spreads the most rapidly, so during this time, owners of domestic pig farms must be especially vigilant. The rapid spread of ASF is explained by the active movement of wild boar and the search for food. Especially active are wild boar piglets, which move quickly, exploring new territories in search of food.

 

 

Construction work is currently taking place on 78 sections of the national road network, and in at least six of them, it takes up to an hour to cross the construction site. Currently, it is the most intensive time for road construction, and unlike other sectors, the prolonged drought has been beneficial.

 

According to data compiled by the Ministry of Transport (SM), the total volume of freight fell in the first half of 2023, while at the same time, turnover in several freight segments is increasing in Latvian ports, as well as domestic rail transport is increasing. The current geopolitical situation and the decision taken at the beginning of the year, when sanctions regarding Russian oil products came into force, continue to affect port and rail freight turnover.

 

"Škoda Vagonka" representatives explain that the delivery schedule was disrupted by the Russian aggression in Ukraine – it was necessary to abandon the initial plan to transport the train sets by rail, performing their initial checks on a closed testing track. These changes in logistics caused delays because the new trains have to be assembled in rented premises in Riga.

 

The volume of rail freight transport in Latvia decreased by 36.7% in the first six months of this year compared to the corresponding period of 2022 and was 7.746 million tonnes, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Transport.

 

On 23 June 2023, the 11th package of European Union sanctions came into effect, in which the head of the Belarusian Railway, Vladimir Morozov, was also included in the section on personal sanctions. Latvia turned out to be the only neighbouring country of Belarus that interpreted this sanction as a ban on moving rail freight across the Latvian-Belarusian border. Consequently, the flow of rail freight both to and from Asian countries was also blocked. Even before such a ban, the ever-falling volume of rail freight transport threatened to drop below the critical threshold in August, beyond which the country would have neither the resources nor the need to maintain LDz in its current form.

 

 

https://satori.lv/article/nelaut-citiem-lemt-musu-vieta