European Wilderness Network Soomaa Wilderness
2018 Š European Wilderness Society www.wilderness-society.org
European Wilderness Network
Soomaa Wilderness, Estonia
Map scale 1 : 389 000 © European Wilderness Society www.wilderness-society.org
39 640 ha 11 530 ha 2009 2011 Large active raised peat-bogs, wetlands and alluvial forests
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approx. 15 000
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approx. 50 000
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Wilderness Protected area
Soomaa National Park Soomaa Wilderness Estonia
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Protected area Wilderness Country Size of the protected area Size of the Wilderness First Audit Most Recent Audit Wilderness Uniqueness Number of visitors per year to the protected area Number of visitors per year to the Wilderness
EU
Soomaa Wilderness is the most valuable part of an extensive peat-bog Wilderness in south-west Estonia. The area is internationally protected as a Ramsar site (wetland). Within Soomaa Wilderness, Kuresoo Bog is one of the two best surviving large bogs in Estonia, with a high species diversity. Soomaa Wilderness is known for having five unique seasons, the fifth season being the high-water season. A number of local rivers from surrounding uplands meet in a relatively small area between the bogs and swamp forests. Once or twice a year, when the snow melts across the country, the rivers fill with melting water and break their banks.
Wilderness information
E U ROP E A
The 11 530 ha Soomaa Wilderness is embedded into the Soomaa National Park, located in the south-eastern corner of Estonia. The Soomaa National Park, situated in Transitional Estonia, was created to protect large pristine raised bogs, floodplain grasslands, wet forests and meandering rivers. Soomaa Wilderness consist of four large peat-bogs: Kuresoo, Valgeraba, Ordi and Kikerpera. The bogs are separated from each other by the Pärnu, Halliste, Navesti, Raudna, Lemmjõgi, and Kõpu rivers. Alongside these rivers, floodplain meadows and floodplain forests occur.
O WILDERNESS S
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Soomaa Wilderness / Estonia
European Wilderness Quality Standard Audit System The 11 530 ha Soomaa Wilderness was audited in 2009 and 2011 and meets the Platinum Wilderness Quality Standard. A European Wilderness Quality Standard Renewal-Audit is scheduled for 2021.
Biodiversity Soomaa Wilderness is an extensive Wilderness, containing large peat-bogs and thick forests interlaced by numerous rivers and the floodplains that border them. The Soomaa Wilderness is a home and breeding area for several mammals that are extinct or very rare in other parts of Europe. The most common species of large mammals in the area are roe deer, elk, and wild boar. Beaver, lynx, wolf, and bear are found in Soomaa Wilderness as well. The alluvial meadows and forests that cover the riverbanks are of great botanical value. Approximately 200 species of flora have been recorded, including gladiolus, iris, and sedum. The unique swamp forests (carrs) surrounding the bogs are also full of rare and threatened species.
Wilderness Tourism Experience Soomaa National Park and particularly Soomaa Wilderness are offering a unique experience. It’s a good place to be if you enjoy bird watching as 185 species of birds have been recorded in Soomaa. Among rare and endangered species, the most impressive species are the black grouse, the willow grouse, the golden eagle, the black stork, the lesser spotted eagle and the great snipe. At the edges of the bogs, capercaillie breed and further into the forest, several woodpecker species, owls and other rare species find a home. During migration season the bogs are a staging site for geese and swans. Visitor birdwatching programmes are regularly combined with canoeing and bog walking trips with services offered by local partners.
Contact Soomaa Wilderness Visitor Center of Soomaa National Park Kõrtsi-Tõramaa, Tipu Village, Kõpu Rural Municipality, Viljandi County, Estonia Phone: +372 435 7164 Website: https://kaitsealad.ee/eng/soomaa-national-park
© European Wilderness Society www.wilderness-society.org
European Wilderness Society
Founded on more than 20 years of Wilderness work by our members, the European Wilderness Society is the only Pan-European, Wilderness and environmental advocacy non-profit, non-government organisation. It has a dedicated multi-cultural and experienced team of Wilderness and wildlife specialists, nature conservationists, researchers and scientists, tourism experts, marketing and business professionals, legal advisors and Wilderness advocates, whose mission is to: XX XX XX XX
identify designate steward promote
Europe’s last Wilderness, WILDCoasts, WILDForests, WILDIslands and WILDRivers. Here non-human intervention leads to open-ended, dynamic processes. This is conveyed through a range of projects that facilitate Wilderness knowledge exchange, including education, culture and science, from local community through to scientific and governmental level.
European Wilderness Network
The European Wilderness Network connects Europe’s wildest places. Certified by the European Wilderness Quality and Audit System, these unique areas host diverse wild ecosystems governed by dynamic open-ended processes, with no or minimum human-intervention. The Network includes, for example, Europe’s last primeval beech forests, the arctic tundra, and mountain landscapes in different climate conditions. It aims to promote Europe’s last Wilderness, WILDCoasts, WILDForests, WILDIslands and WILDRivers, with a comprehensive marketing strategy. The European Wilderness Network offers a platform to share Wilderness Stewardship best-practice examples and Wilderness research. It connects like-minded Wilderness managers and advocates and fosters the exchange of ideas and knowledge across Europe and the world through the European Wilderness Exchange Programme. For more information please see http://european-wilderness.network
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