A conversation with Miķelis Taukačs, forest manager at "Mucenieki" in Auru Parish

This is my family's forest at "Mucenieki" in Auru Parish. Before the war, it was owned by my grandmother.

In 2011, a black stork's nest was found in the stand, and a micro-reserve was designated for the area. Once the reserve was established, no economic activity was permitted in that stand. There used to be a forest there, now… you will see for yourselves! The nest was found by a local forester, and as an expert, the "famous friend of forest owners," ornithologist Māris Strazds, was invited.

In the area I manage, there is another micro-reserve – or, to be precise, its buffer zone, because the lesser spotted eagle's nest is in a neighbour's stand. I have already received an official document about that! Economic activity in the buffer zone is restricted.

At the time, when assessing the stand before the reserve was established, I calculated that I would earn around 60,000 lats from the felling and would be able to build a house for myself. I had to trade my plans and my intended home for a house (nest) for a black stork! That is it! It is unclear how far we will go with this attitude. Perhaps some very valuable spider has now settled in my home, and one day I will have to leave it because I—a human—am disturbing the spider!

For five years, I have visited various offices in various institutions to resolve this issue. The area of the reserve is 10 ha. So, in compensation, I receive about 1,600 euros per year. It is worth mentioning that the so-called buffer zone is another 12 ha, for which I receive no compensation at all... In total, 22 hectares of the property cannot be properly managed. Speaking of the plans to build a house: in this situation, can I go to the bank and talk about a loan for building a house?

In 2019, the price of timber fell, and another owner and I decided: the felling permit has been received, let's wait for the numbers to change! The other owner walks around the stand every few months with his head held high, worried: hoping that some bird doesn't accidentally decide to settle in his forest. The "imposers" of micro-reserves have achieved the opposite with their actions – the system of reserves has made birds unwelcome, because the previously beautiful, well-maintained forest is falling apart and resembles a pile of rotten wood.

We often face a situation: the State Forest Service has issued a felling permit, but the data at the port shows something else. Information appears that my timber is from an area where there is a habitat. And no document issued by a state institution—the felling certificate—helps anymore! I encounter this problem quite often. Timber receivers at the port take data on the property from which the timber is supplied from a database that contains information about the entire property stand, not the specific location of the habitat, and problems arise for the forest manager. Something is wrong with this flow of documents!

The solution? The men at the port say: find a specialist to go and confirm that there has never been an officially registered habitat in the stand! So—in a situation where I have received a felling permit issued by a state institution, do I still need to pay a specialist to assess it and wait for the necessary results to appear in some database that is not official?!! I do not understand: why should I have to do this! If the State Forest Service has issued a permit, it is a guarantee! In my opinion, there is no need to find a confirmation document for every document from a state institution, in which one could read that the primary document is definitely correct!

The forest used to be like a piggy bank. Here too! The current result is obvious: we did not get anything, and the bird doesn't like it here anymore either! Over these years, I have neither found the nest nor seen the black stork itself, and judging by what I see, there are a few growing trees, plenty of fallen and rotting trees, and the forest required by the black stork is no longer here. Therefore, there is no habitat suitable for the black stork itself. By prohibiting management, the initiators of the reserve—the ornithologists—have effectively destroyed the bird's habitat! Furthermore, a beaver lives near the stand, and the area that was once a fertile woodland is slowly turning into a swamp! How is a forest owner to live and work further? Is anyone, any so-called “decision-maker,” even interested in this?

Comment from Zemeunvalsts.lv:

1.    The last question is pertinent—the forest is collapsing, the territory is becoming swampy, what next?

2.    In recent months, the State Forest Service has pointed to the designation of reserves (for the lesser spotted eagle) as a way of absorbing funds. Has the reserve, as a "pretext" for restriction, served its time? It has; the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development (VARAM) even admits it! When will concrete action follow?

3.    What happens to the habitat (nest)? A reserve is designated for an area where human activity has existed and has not been restricted. What happens when it ends? Is the bird informed about this too? Because we are certainly not talking about the ambitions or goals of specific restrictors, but about the protection of the bird. So...