Government backs expansion of Nevėžis landscape reserve

The Lithuanian government has backed a proposal to expand the Nevėžis State Landscape Reserve to 1,746.95 hectares, LRT reports. The reserve would grow by 621 hectares.

The expanded reserve would cover parts of Šilainiai in Kaunas city and the Užliedžiai, Babtai and Raudondvaris elderships in Kaunas district. The proposal would add neighbouring Natura 2000 protected areas, the entire Raudondvaris manor estate, fragments of the Kačiūniškė manor estate, the Babtynas manor estate, also known as Žemaitkiemis, Piepaliai hillfort and settlement, and a section of the Raudondvaris road.

The plan would add 353 land plots to the reserve, including 317 privately owned plots, as well as 126.3 hectares of unformed state land.

The Environment Ministry has also proposed a 127-hectare buffer zone to protect natural and cultural heritage nearby while avoiding excessive restrictions on residential areas. It would include 310 plots or parts of plots: 303 privately owned plots covering 80.44 hectares, seven state-owned plots covering 2.29 hectares, and 20.46 hectares of unformed state land.

The ministry said its analysis found habitats and protected species of EU importance near the reserve, including natural eutrophic lakes, tall-herb communities, mown meadows, broad-leaved and mixed forests, and ravine and slope forests. Expanding the reserve would bring these areas into one continuous protected territory.

If the new boundaries are approved, private forest owners whose forest group classification is set to change could apply for one-off or annual compensation. The ministry estimates that a total of 1,851 euros is planned for annual compensation over the next decade.