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The project, which is funded by the EU LIFE Programme in Finland, Sweden and Estonia aiming to improve freshwater pearl mussel (FPM) habitat conditions covering 69 FPM rivers, continues its second year. This year emphasis is placed on advancing the technical actions at the target rivers. Next summer, especially the FPM river restorations in Kainuu and Northern Sweden are moving forward rapidly. In Sweden and Finnish Southern Ostrobothnia, some of the project’s partners are already finishing their restoration measures.

Kunttu explains, that the project participants are professionals. River restorations involve a few practical challenges, such as waiting for the ice to melt, waiting for spring floods to end, and in some areas particularly industrious beavers building dam structures. Restorations are routine procedures in which FPM can be transferred to a different section of the same river for the duration of the process. The reason why the improvements made to FPM habitats are successful, is because the rivers are well known among the project participants. One goal of the restorations is to improve river flow conditions; moving rocks to previously processed areas let the habitats re-establish river rapids.

-We monitor e.g. water flow and oxygen conditions in rivers. They are among the most important factors in creating a hospitable habitat for FPM, says Kunttu.

LIFE Revives is also testing a new method, building so called FPM kindergartens in rivers. This means restoring patches to FPM rivers, in which the aim is to provide favourable conditions for the first years of the young mussels’ lives. The project follows whether naturally reproduced mussels settle to habit such restored patches. Until now, Metsähallitus Parks and Wildlife Finland and Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment of Southern Ostrobothnia have restored kindergartens to their target rivers and these activities will continue next summer as well as the following years.

Technical project manager Kunttu and administrative project manager Nicholas Marsh have set out on this second project year with anticipation, even though according to Marsh the project has not been immune to current circumstances with rising prices. The situation has required adaptivity from all participants.

The biggest reason for joy so far for Kunttu, has been the successful award of project funding on the second attempt after years of planning, and that the actions have been under way effectively on a practical level. Freshwater pearl mussels have a major significance in the ecosystem.

This year’s goals also include building more efficient communication to landowners, media, school pupils and the FPM conservation community. According to Kunttu and Marsh landowners have been important enablers in advancing the project. In the future, landowners will continue to have an important role, as some of the project’s target rivers are on private landowners’ lands.

In the longer term a key aim is to build collaboration with other countries’ FPM researchers and conservationists. One of the project’s objectives is to unify FPM conservation methods across Europe. FPM conservation is an international issue.

Kunttu and Marsh were interviewed by project secretary Anni Karhu at the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥.