In Suomussalmi’s Hukkajoki, sand and silt have spread downstream from the crossing point. It clogs bottom gravel, which is vital for young clams.
There’s no mistaking the place: heavy vehicles have passed this point countless times. The beach has also been shaved against recommendations.
Suomussalmi
From here has gone
The tracks are covered under a carpet of moss and sparrows, but despite the municipality, you can’t mistake the place.
In water, the border is like being drawn with a brush. Upstream from the trail, the bottom is dark and stony. There is only sand on the path that the forest machine goes on.
This point has been driven by heavy vehicles countless times. Suomussalmi’s small Hukkajoki suddenly became famous when the right route to the logging site was revealed. Now the milled river bed and bottom are signs of a suspected gross nature conservation crime.
The river is of rare quality, because at the bottom of it live river pearl mussels, which are in danger of disappearing from Finland. Here they even increase, or at least have increased.
The crossing point stands out clearly in the river. The bottom of the shallow part, which can be waded with rubber boots, is soft with sand.
The rescue workers have isolated the municipality covering the rut with Metsähallitus tapes, so that it would not be necessary to drive over it now.
From the crossing point viewed upstream, there are plenty of them. In recent days, new neighbors have been brought to the permanent residents, estimated to be a few thousand mussels rescued from the underflow.
As a layman, it’s hard to tell which is which, but at least some of it looks like it is described in the textbooks.
The gills are vertical and open, they strain the food.
The bottom and rocks are dark, and so are the raws. One leg of some, almost white muscle, stands out clearly as it sticks out between the shells. On foot, the raw stick sticks to the bottom and moves if it wants to.
At power points, the surface is uneven and reflects light. But when you stop and look, there they are.
Most of them could fit in the palm of your hand. I would like to feel the bark and try to count the annual rings of those that look big and old – the oldest known Nestori lived to be 280 years old.
But the species has calmed down and doesn’t need any more disturbance now.
Besides, the water is so clear that you can see the bottom well. At the currents, the water ripples, but when you concentrate, you start to see clearly. There’s one over there, and actually another one next to it. There is a bunch of them in the next hole.
Raaku’s shell in shallow water. It is estimated that thousands of mussels have been carried upstream, where the bottom is still good.
On the upstream side, the bottom is stony and dark. Thousands of mussels live there. Hukkajoki is one of the few waters where the roach still reproduces.
Raaku’s white leg clearly stands out from its dark background. In the polluted areas, researchers have found dead skunks and individuals with darkened legs and poor condition.
Cracks in the upstream gravel. The bottom should breathe so that even the little crusts can survive there. There are also many schools of small fish swimming in the river.
Downstream maybe you can see even more shells, but it’s hard to say in what condition. A hundred meters from the crossing, the shell resembles a coconut from a distance, as the loose shell covers the animals and the bottom.
The soft parts used for chewing food are dark. Not a single white leg to be seen.
It’s hard to keep up with the bills, but in one place there are easily more than a hundred scrolls next to each other.
Downstream from the crossing, the bottom looks different. Everything, including clams, is covered in brown sludge. Mussels are easily distinguished from rocks by their shape and the dark gap between the shell.
According to the researchers, mussels downstream cannot survive in polluted water. Raakku keeps its home stream clear, but it can’t do well in an already dirty stream.
Others there is no river, or at least there are no people. Rescue work has been done for many days, and there will be a break at the weekend. Logging, on the other hand, is frozen.
There are stacks of logs from Stora Enso on Metsätie, and the emptiness of the clearing is already visible from the riverbank. An opening opens on the south side.
This area has not been any untouched wilderness. The forests are not immeasurably old, but an economic forest like almost anywhere today. Along with damming, forestry is also one of the reasons why there are no raw streams or rivers with clear water almost anywhere.
The recommendation is that a strip of trees should be left on the beach because of the roughness. 45 meters would protect the river from washouts and provide shade from the heat.
It is quite clear that there is not such a thing in every point. At worst, the trees are shaved so that there is no shelter at all, maybe two rows of trees. On the plain, the distance can be reduced.
From the nearest stump, a dozen steps lead to the beach meadow. The thirteenth would already be splashing in the water.
From Kannonnoka, you could easily throw a stone downhill and into the river. The recommendation is to leave 45 meters in between, but the law does not say so.
There are traces of humans and forestry on the beach.
View of the crossing from the south. Most of the clear-cut area is just to the south, and in some places it extends only meters from the shoreline. The logs are stacked on the north side, where they have been straightened by machines across the river.
Forest machines leave deep grooves in the terrain.
On the north side of the river, there are Stora Enso’s log piles along the forest road.
Beyond the river opens a bare landscape.
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