SCA鈥檚 actions benefit fish and freshwater pearl mussel

The Swedish Forest Company SCA (Svensk Cellulosa Aktibolag) is one of several participants in the extensive river water conservation project LIFE Revives, which aims to restore populations of freshwater pearl mussels (FPM) and their habitats in Northern Sweden, Finland and Estonia. Throughout the last two years, SCA has removed old road culverts and replaced them with smart and cost-effective arches, contributing to the restoration of a natural streambed where host fish of the larval stage of FPM can migrate, enabling the mussel reproduction.

Removal of migration barriers in River Pite氓 and River R氓ne氓 catchment areas

The selected stream areas within the catchment areas of River Pite氓 and River R氓ne氓 have been identified as particularly favorable聽by the County Administrative Board of Norrbotten, also participating the LIFE Revives project. In these areas the removal of fish migration barriers will greatly benefit the recruitment FPM in the rivers.聽So far, SCA has addressed two migration barriers in River Br盲nnmyrb盲cken, which belongs to the catchment area of the River Pite氓, and two others within the catchment area of the River R氓ne氓 located in River Kortekaltiotr盲skb盲cken and River Peuraoja near Nattavaara municipality.聽By removing road culverts and building arch-like constructions instead, SCA has been able to restore a natural stream passage under the roads. When fish can migrate freely again, it benefits the larval stages of FPM are able to find a fish host and settle to their gills to develop to juvenile mussels.

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Improved construction

Previously, tube-like culverts were used during the construction of forest and public roads. This kind of a structure has been found to create migration barriers for fish.

"Nowadays, we in the forestry have better knowledge, so when we replace culverts and establish new water crossings in streams, we do it in a way that benefits the natural environment. We have used a relatively new and simple construction where we assemble an arch of galvanized sheet metal and place it on a reinforced concrete foundation鈥�, says Mariana Jussila Wahlberg, nature conservation specialist at SCA.

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There are several advantages to these arches.

"It is fundamentally a simple and relatively cost-effective construction to establish. It has high durability with a theoretical lifespan of around 80 years, and low maintenance costs. These arches are therefore very suitable for use also in other forest road projects where we need to protect watercourses.鈥�