Plant and animal life has begun to recover in the Vålådalen nature reserve in Jämtland County, but nature needs continued protection and therefore the ban on walking and cycling in parts of the reserve has been extended over the summer and until 1 June 2023.

Major damage after visitor boom

The background is the enormous visitor pressure that the area was exposed to, not least Blanktjärn, the turquoise lake.

In just a couple of years, the number of visitors increased from 2000 to 17,000. In 2019, parts of the area were therefore blocked off when it became clear how hard the ground had been worn and how large the disturbances had been on many animal species.

Before the summer of last year, the county administrative board encouraged people to apply to other areas so that nature could recover.

The call was heeded and nature is slowly but surely recovering.

Unpaved terrain attracts - creates new problems

But now the county administrative board is noticing a new trend, where people are certainly looking for other areas, but away from the trails, and to the wrong places and at the wrong time of year.

- There are organizers who offer such tours and also individual visitors who themselves seek out unpaved terrain, says Ulrika Karlsson, project manager at the county administrative board.

There is great concern, from the County Administrative Board's side, that it will create new problems with disturbances and ground wear.

Hear Ulrika Karlsson tell more about it in the clip above.

In the video below, you meet a couple of this year's visitors to the nature reserve and also get tips on what you as a hiker should think about.

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Many are also applying this summer to Vålådalen's nature reserve - meet a couple of visitors and hear what the county administrative board's Ulrika Karlsson gives for advice before the mountain trip.

Photo: Marie Selander / SVT