News

Whitefish Spawning Sites Restored, Taumako Traditional Culture and Voyaging School Opens and a New Pacific Tour Announcement

Cpt. Karoliina seining to clean the Koitajoki

Restoration season comes to an end with cleaning of spawning sites on river Koitajoki, and attention focuses on the Pacific – the Taumako Traditional Culture and Voyaging School Opens and a New Pacific Tour brings Snowchange delegates to Tasmania, New Zealand and Canada.

The rewilding and restoration season is drawing to a close in Finland. Several peatlands have been completed, including Arctic Circle sites, Suomussalmi and Koitajoki river sites. Now later in the season the main actions have included Reino and Karoliina using the river seining to clean several spawning sites of the whitefish. It can be only accomplished using the traditional small seine over the clogged sites across the upper Koitajoki.

Success in catch.

We join in celebration of the opening of the Taumako Traditional Culture and Voyaging School that has been accomplished by the Holau Vaka Taumako Association (HVTA) and Pacific Traditions Society (PTS) in the Solomon Islands. The school has received several Snowchange small grants to get to this position. The opening was at the end of September and now the school will support the unique culture and practices of this part of the Pacific.

Taumako community members with a traditional canoe.

New Pacific Tour will cover travels to Polar Data Forum in Tasmania as well as preparations for the Festival of Fishing Traditions 2027, as well as meetings with the Indigenous Tasmanians. From there we will continue over to Aotearoa to review and discuss collaborations with Te Anamāhanga Wetland Restoration Project and to strengthen the Indigenous-led restoration in the Pacific. Onwards to Western Canada, where delegates will come to from Minnesota and peatlands restoration as well as other parts of North America to discuss Snowchange priorities for 2026. Review of the small grants under way in Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and other parts of the region will be conducted.

In international media and news, a new UNESCO Thematic Paper titled “Culture and Climate Action: From Margins to Mainstream” contains summaries of Snowchange efforts. Mongabay, the global media on the environmental issues covers some of the Sámi forest work.

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Vendace Cans Are Out – Rewilding of Sevettijärvi Lake Completed, Peatland Summit a Success

Vendace cans out of the door and into the kitchen!

September closes with fisheries, fish exports and rewilding season drawing towards its end. Large gatherings at the Arctic Circle peatlands and in Koitajoki were a major highlight of this month and new StoryMaps highlight the International Week of Peatlands in Finland. Muddusjärvi forests and Sevettijärvi lake restoration in Sámi territory were important milestones for Indigenous-led restoration.

Tapojoki in Muonio

The fisheries team is headed to the ANUGA exhibit in Cologne, Germany soon as the brand new artisanal vendace cans are on the move! Equally so the fish processing facilities received an uplift over the summer and fish traps are in the waters of lake Onkamo. 

New wilderness cabin out in Muonio

In September the International Week of Peatlands drew over 40 participants across Europe and the boreal. Exchanges on the week are summarized in a recent StoryMaps

Sevettijärvi erosion control, September 2025

In rewilding work the conclusion of the 10 years of lake Sevettijärvi restoration with Skolt Sámi has concluded. The erosion controls are in place and water hydrological regime on the comeback. The Sámi forests of Muddusjärvi under the Landscape Rewilding Programme were surveyed and new plans made. 

Muddusjärvi rewilding Sámi forest

In Western Lapland in the community of Muonio, Tapojoki river joined and also the large Liepimäjärvi peatland complex was a highlight of September. 

Liepimäjärvi rewilding site in Western Finland

October will bring collaboration visits to Germany, Estonia and international exchanges later in the month. The Arctic Passion monitoring project comes to a conclusion in Potsdam, Germany – after five years of EU-funded polar research. Check back for updates in mid-October.

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International Week of Peatlands, Sámi Burns and Baltic Herring Bring the Summer to a Close

Sea Eagle above Oura

End of August and September bring an international week devoted to the boreal peatlands. A major 450 hectare forest-peatland complex secured in Muonio, Northwestern Finland. Sámi restoration burns enabled recovery of a forest in Ivalo.

Sunset in Oura

As we head to September, major international week of boreal peatlands commences. Both the Endangered Landscapes and Seascapes Programme and the Climate Breakthrough initiative head to Finland for major exchange on conservation and restoration of peatlands as well as inclusion of boreal communities into the work. Over 30 delegates will review and visit Snowchange restoration landscapes, discover Karelian culture associated with peatlands and enjoy the revitalized rune singing of Koitajoki. Delegates are expected across Europe, USA, Alaska, Canada and the UK. 

In rewilding news the peatland restoration proceeded both in the Arctic Circle and in Koitajoki with Kivisuo peatland completed and Petäjäsuo peatland headed for completion. In Muonio, northwestern Lapland, over 450 hectares of sub-Arctic forests, peatlands and three kilometers of a trout river of Mustijoki were included into the Landscape Rewilding Programme bringing the total of owned lands to 8200 hectares. A busy Autumn still awaits and several sites are on the go.

Sámi burns

Sámi restoration burns took place in in the ICCA site of Alttokangas, led by the Sámi traditional owners. Snowchange and Sámi teams burned logged patches, inventoried last years burn sites and reviewed Sámi knowledge of fire. This flagship Arctic restoration of boreal forests will continue with expanded burns and monitoring efforts in 2026.

Cpt. Kuuskeri setting nets at dusk, Baltic Sea.

Fisheries are emerging from the hiatus of very warm summer temperatures. Seining has commenced in Selkie and a large delegation of Snowchange fishers visited Oura archipelago and Reposaari island in Pori on a community-to-community exchange. Baltic herring and sea eagles supported the visits.

Gift of the Sea – Baltic Herring
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Unalakleet Indigenous Knowledge Database Released

Salmon fishing in Unalakleet, 2025

After much waiting the much-anticipated Unalakleet Climate and Indigenous Knowledge Database has been released. Rhe Unalakleet Climate Events Database, which presents over 20 years of research materials, oral histories and Indigenous views on climate change affecting Unalakleet and Norton Sound, Alaska is available now.

The actual database is available here and the Arctic Seas portal.

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Gwich’in and the Snowchange Initiate Large Collaboration, Large Peatlands in Arctic Circle in Finland Restored

Bill Antaya & other members of the 1970 Dawson Patrol. Peel River. -50°F. Photo: Keith Billington, Culture & Heritage Department, GWICH’IN TRIBAL COUNCIL. Used with permission.

August is here and in this newsletter we highlight a sweeping new collaboration with the Culture & Heritage Department, Gwich’in from NWT, Canada, and report the recent restoration of Makkaralatva-aapa, a large peatland at the Arctic Circle in Finland.

Culture & Heritage Department, Gwich’in Tribal Council from NWT, Canada and Snowchange have signed a sweeping collaboration agreement that establishes their home area as the new landscape hub under the Climate Breakthrough initiative. We have been collaborating with the Gwich’in Tribal Council for 25 years and this important Agreement takes the collaboration to new levels. Over the next few years we focus on the questions of peatlands and barren lands, their cultural and ecological roles in the NWT, and support the Gwich’in Tribal Council in their efforts. We commemorate this moment by releasing a new photographic book titled “When Gwich’in and Skolt Sámi Meet” in Autumn that will be distributed to the communities both in Skolt Sámi area in Finland and to the Canadian Gwich’in communities. Check back here for more information in September.

Miehinkäaapa, Salla

In the Finnish component of the Climate Breakthrough work, new large landscape sites such as the 300 hectare Miehinkäaapa in Salla have joined the peatland initiative. Equally so Makkaralatva-aapa located in Ranua has been now fully restored by Snowchange totalling 330 hectares. It is one of the most relevant peatlands from Western Ranua. Henri Leskinen from Snowchange restored the site. In Koitajoki peatlands have been restored in the lake Koitere region and the work will continue deep into Autumn.

Henri at the restoration of Makkaralatva-aapa

In July several field missions visited the new peatland and forest sites have joined the Landscape Rewilding Programme. Maksamo lake and peatlands in Kemijärvi are a very biodiverse site that host a number of nesting birds such as cranes and are also a healthy spawning location of amphibians such as frogs. Monitoring missions have included bird, water and biodiversity mapping and results are coming in towards Autumn.

Maksamolampi peatlands in Kemijärvi
Frogs are an important bio-indicator for water health.
Cranes take off from Maksamo in mid-July.

Finally Wraecca reports from the visits to the Pacific in the Spring. Please read the article here.

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