Finnish forestry firms pledge to protect wildlife after endangered mussels crushed

By Essi Lehto and Elviira Luoma

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finnish forestry companies will work with the government to protect wildlife and avoid a repeat of an incident in August when endangered river pearl mussels were crushed by forestry machines, Environment Minister Kai Mykkanen said.

"Today we met with the top management of main forest companies to start a process which will bring back trust that these kinds of cases won't happen again," Mykkanen told reporters in an online briefing on Tuesday.

Thousands of river pearl mussels were crushed last month when forestry machines transported logs across a river at a Stora Enso logging site in northern Finland.

Scientific diver Myyri Sysivesi was first to discover the damage when she arrived on the logging site with a colleague to research the pearl mussels.

"We heard the forestry machine... and immediately noticed that everything is not as it should be in the river. The whole riverbed was covered in thick sludge," she told Reuters.

Sysivesi said she and her colleague found shattered shells and dead mussels near the point where the forestry machine had crossed the river, adding that sludge and dirt had deprived the shellfish of the oxygen-rich gravel that they need to live.

Finnish police have said they are investigating the incident as a case of serious environmental crime.

Stora said crushing the mussels was a result of communication and IT problems and human error. It suspended logging in environmentally protected areas for two weeks and said it would pay for restoration of the river.

In its own investigation, Stora found similar damage on another logging site, saying it would monitor log harvesting better in the future.

Finland is a major producer and exporter of pulp, paper and other products that are based on logging in the country's vast forests.

(Reporting by Essi Lehto and Elviira Luoma in Helsinki; Editing by Ros Russell)