On Friday, it became known that strict measures are recommended to improve the conditions for the wild reindeer. Among other things, removing musk, demolishing tourist huts, restricting traffic and putting the E6 and the railway in a tunnel at Dovrefjell. Mayor of Dovre Magne Vorkinn (Sp) believes this could mean the hook on the door for the tourism industry. – To me, it seems very unrealistic, and very costly. As I see it, there are major consequences for those who have replaced the tourism industry over it. It is the hook in the door for them. He says he is surprised, and that there will be a “battle” about which measures are implemented. State managers in several counties have been assigned to lead the work to improve the conditions for the wild reindeer in their areas. Project groups have been set up to stand behind the proposals for the action plan, which will be sent to the Norwegian Environment Agency on Friday. The project groups consist of affected municipalities, wild reindeer committees and wild reindeer committees. Makes a good living from the tourism industry Between 10,000-17,000 tourists visit Dovrefjell every summer to see the muskox. The summer months last year saw a record number of visitors to Dovrefjell, with almost 17,000 visitors on the Moskusstien. – We know this because we have several traffic counters here. We notice a growing interest year by year. A slight decrease this year, but it is probably the bad weather that made the difference, says Gunhild Sem, national park manager in Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella national park. There are also more and more people coming to look for musk in winter, and not just in summer, especially among foreigners. Counts have been made of visitors to Dovrefjell as far back as 2006. In 2009 there were around 7,000 visitors and there has been a gradual increase since then. The Musk Trail is a management measure that was established in 2017 to channel traffic to the outer edge of the national park. – We have reason to believe that the vast majority of people come to see musk. The numbers of visitors only show those who go from the largest departure points and the actual number of visitors may be higher, says Sem. – Removing musk can damage the tourism industry Vorkinn believes that removing the musk from Dovrefjell can damage the tourism industry, and that the musk does not destroy the wild reindeer. – Here it is more a question of regulating traffic and finding good solutions that the industry can tolerate. Vorkinn reacts to several of the proposals. – There will be costs and a process that will take a very long time. So to me it seems very unrealistic, he says. Photo: private Removing musk from Dovrefjell is proposed as a step 2, if the measures proposed in step 1 do not have the desired effect. – Removal of musk is a measure that has been proposed to be put on hold, as other measures should be carried out first. But it is described as an effective measure, says Line Lund Fjellvær, head of the climate and environment department at the State Administrator in Trøndelag. One of the proposals from the project group is to “assess the musk’s future in the wild reindeer area”. The musk on Dovrefjell attracts many tourists. Photo: Roger Brendhagen – In our municipality, tourism is a big industry. Closing down several tourist huts and closing the E6 to car traffic will lead to many tourist businesses over the mountain having to close down, I think, says Vorkinn. These are some of the proposals that the State Administrators will send to the Norwegian Environment Agency: Put the E6 and the railway in a tunnel between wild reindeer areas. Regulation of free movement in parts of the Snøhetta wild reindeer area for parts of the year. Demolition of the Reinheim tourist hut and removal of trails in the Snøhetta reindeer area. Regulation of motor traffic both on bare ground and in winter. Closure of two roads in Snøhetta (parts of Aursjøveien and Sandgrovbotnveien). Changes in stock management – new stock target. State planning regulations with a greater focus on wild reindeer. Measures against infection transmission at salt stone sites in Knutshøe. Assessing the future of the musk deer in the wild reindeer area Closure of Reinheim and Snøheim tourist huts and Snøheimvegen – It is clear that it is a very costly measure, and it will involve a longer planning process, says Fjellvær. Need larger habitats Climate change is expected to create even greater challenges for the wild reindeer. Although many measures have been initiated for the wild reindeer in the last ten years, the development over a long period has nevertheless been negative. In 2021, the wild reindeer came on the red list as near threatened due to a decline in the population. The biggest threats to the wild reindeer are the fragmentation of the areas they live in and the disease scrapie. Wild reindeer need large habitats and avoid human activity. The development of power plants, roads and cottage fields threatens the wild reindeer, and disrupts their natural migration routes. – In the past, the wild reindeer moved over much larger areas, while now they stay within their areas, says Fjellvær in the State Administrator. Do you think the proposals are too invasive? Yes, this was violent Well, completely inside No, absolutely not Show result Measures have also been proposed for Rondane to improve the conditions for the wild reindeer. Haavard Elstrand at the State Administrator of the Interior says that there is a need to reduce the volume of traffic in the mountains through various measures. – And then there is also a need for what we call a foot on the ground in relation to the violent growth of cabin construction that has also been within the wild reindeer area. Reindeer have the greatest challenges in Rondane Nord, so there we propose faster measures. – As State Administrator, we are also concerned that these measures, which will certainly have effects locally, are compensated in different ways. It is important that in the job of finding good solutions, great emphasis is also placed on the need for local value creation in the future as well.
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Mayor of Dovre reacts to proposals for measures to improve conditions for wild reindeer – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
