A local river association and the company Hiilipörssi are blocking mire ditches and building wetlands so that less humus and fewer nutrients reach the river.
The river’s water has darkened by 58% since the 1970s. The work starts with mire ditches and wetlands in the Kiitämä catchment, close to the eastern border.
Work to restore the catchment of the Kuusinkijoki river has begun in Kuusamo. The river association Kuusinkijoki kuntoon ry started in the village of Hänninen by Lake Kiitämäjärvi, and its goal is to restore the whole catchment.
The Kuusinkijoki is known for grayling and lake-run brown trout, and according to the association the water in its main channel is still mostly of excellent quality. A study commissioned for the project, however, found that the phosphorus load had grown by 28% and the water had darkened by 58% compared with the 1970s.
Matti Aikio, who chairs the association, says forest drainage ditches and abandoned fields put a slow but insidious load on the river, and that it is worth acting now, while the water is still in good condition.
Ditches in drained mires are blocked and trees removed, so that the water table in the mire rises again.
Wetlands for water protection and for birds are built on fields that are no longer farmed.
When water flows more slowly, solids settle out and nutrients bind to the soil and plants before they reach the river.
The mires are restored by Hiilipörssi Oy, a company that specialises in peatland restoration. The work is free for landowners, who also receive conservation payments. Hiilipörssi is funded by companies that do voluntary nature and climate work.
The first area is the Kiitämä catchment near the eastern border. According to the plan published in March, the goal of the first phase is to restore about 200–400 hectares of mire and create two wetlands. After that, the work moves downstream one sub-catchment at a time.
The restoration follows the association’s project of 2020–2025, which opened more than 400 km of migration routes to fish. Its main work was opening the Piilijoki channel past the Myllykoski hydropower plant. That project cost 5.5 million euros.
According to Hiilipörssi, the restoration also improves habitats for waterfowl, forest grouse and mire plants such as cloudberry and cranberry.
Why cold, clean water is one of the most valuable things in northern nature is explained on our freshwater page.