Restoration at Nuorajärvi to reopen habitat for threatened waterbirds in September

Restoration of the protected Nuorajärvi bird lake in Teisko, Tampere, will run from 1 September 2026 to 31 March 2027.

The Regional Centre for Inland Finland (Sisä-Suomen elinvoimakeskus) will carry out the work. It will dredge and expand the open-water area by about 1.7 hectares and build a series of nesting islets of varying sizes for waterbirds. The project is part of the Priodiversity LIFE initiative and the Helmi Habitat Programme, both aimed at strengthening Finland’s biodiversity.

Nuorajärvi is a Natura 2000 site protected under the EU Birds Directive and has hosted several threatened species, including the critically endangered red-breasted merganser and the endangered black-throated diver. The lake’s bird populations have declined since the 2000s, largely because of vegetation overgrowth and a growing population of small predators. Dredged material will be transported and deposited on agricultural fields outside the Natura 2000 area, Aamulehti reports.

Similar measures were carried out earlier this year at Iidesjärvi, where spring fyke-net fishing and other interventions removed shoal fish to improve conditions for breeding waterfowl Iidesjärvi spring measures. Volunteers have also restored trout and stream habitats across Pirkanmaa this summer, part of broader regional efforts to boost freshwater biodiversity Pirkanmaa volunteer stream restorations.