State Forest Service says logging of ancient Rucava forest was legal

Logging of a nearly 400-year-old protected forest near Rucava did not breach the law, the State Forest Service says. LSM reported that authorities are investigating how the felling was approved, while two other nearby logging areas have been temporarily halted.

The forest included five pine trees estimated to be about 400 years old, according to the State Forest Register. The Agriculture Ministry called the destruction of a habitat of European importance absurd, despite saying no law had been broken.

State Forest Service engineer Aija Ozola said the cut complied with requirements and that the site had been inspected beforehand. The service said a nest marked on its records was found in a birch tree outside the cleared area and was left untouched.

The service said the forest had no nature reserve status, the designation that would have restricted logging. Recording a habitat in its system does not automatically limit forestry, it said. The service has opened an investigation after a drone view appeared to show only four ecological trees left in the clearing, fewer than required.

The forest is owned by the Forest Research Station, an institution under the Agriculture Ministry. The station said the felling complied with regulations and declined to comment further.

The Latvian Nature Fund said the loss was significant for Latvia and Europe. It said there are very few such old trees in Latvia, that forests of this kind should not be felled, and that a particularly protected habitat was known to be present at the site.