May 11-14, 2023 | Trysil, Norway
We plan to explore the Fulufjället National Park and Finnskogen areas, which are both situated across the Norwegian-Swedish border. Finnskogen is one of the Scandinavian Wolf Research Projects (Skandulv) primary study areas, while Fulufjället is a world-renowned National Park that offers hiking and wildlife viewing opportunities. Accompanied by several members of the Skandulv team, we will visit the Scandinavian forest learning about various aspects of their research, including how they approach cross-border research and management. We will join the team in the field for some hands-on research experience, meet with different local stakeholders and groups, and generally get to know the social-ecological ecosystem. Finnskogen offers an amazing natural and cultural backdrop for our trip, and experiencing the cultural heritage of Norway will also be a top priority.
Day 1: We will drive together in the evening after the conference to Mora, Sweden for a brief overnight on the way to Fulufjället National Park.
Day 2: Fulufjället National Park! Then we will drive to Trysil, Norway where we will stay for the next two nights.
Day 3: Exploring the Finnskogen Skandulv study area.
Day 4: An active morning of hiking or canoeing and then back to Stockholm, or find your own way to Oslo Airport and fly out from there.
Trysil Hyttegrend & Camping is a beautiful, family owned cabin village and campground located just outside Trysil. The cabin village is nestled next to the Trysilelva (Trysil River) and looks out over calm waters, forest, and mountains. Each group will stay in a fully equipped small hytte (cabin), and there will be opportunities for nature walks, runs, canoeing, and fishing.
Our group will leave on Thursday, after the close of the conference (at ~1630). We will travel by bus to Stockholm Arlanda airport where we will pick up mini vans. After that, a quick stopover for dinner in Falun on our way to Mora, Sweden where we will stay the night. Plan to arrive late in the evening.
On Friday, we will get an early start and drive to Fulufjället National Park where we will spend the day exploring, with the option for hiking, possibly visiting an inactive bear den, and trying to spot brown bears. Around 1700, we will head to Trysil Hyttegrend, which is situated near the Norwegian-Swedish border. This is where we will stay for the next 2 nights.
Saturday morning we head to the GRENSEVILT study area in Finnskogen to explore nature and the culture of this legendary boreal forest region. This regaion is home to descendants of Finnish immigrants from the 17th century and the origin of today’s Scandinavian wolf population. We will take part in a little bit of fieldwork, talk with locals about their experiences, and take an optional hike through a forest ecosystem in change.
Sunday morning will give us time to explore the Trysil area, including options for hiking, canoeing (provided the river is not in spring flood stage), or relaxing near the river. There will be lots of activities planned, so no need to worry about any logistics. We plan to return to Stockholm after lunch on Sunday, arriving back in the city *around* 7:00 pm Sunday evening. Plan to be dropped of at your respective drop-off location in Stockholm where you can then move on and find a nice local dinner on your own.
Food will be taken care of as well and included in the trip costs.
Please do not plan a flight for Sunday, but rather plan to fly out Monday morning at the earliest. You can also plan to fly out of Oslo, but connecting travel from Trysil to Oslo Gardemoen is up to you. We can drop you at the bus station in Trysil.
*Please note any hotel rooms or meals in Stockholm for Sunday evening are not included in the price.
This will be an active trip where we will spend ours days moving around in nature.
Be prepared to be outside in potentially cold, bad weather.
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Lots of driving to get where we need to go. But we will go through some beautiful countryside!
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Long days in the field.
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Times when we will not have access to bathrooms (e.g., while in the field), so plan accordingly.
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Times when we will not have cell phone or internet.
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Possible rain or snow - You never know what you will get during the Scandinavian spring.
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Cold weather - We will be going up in elevatin compared to where the conference venue is in Sweden. Depending on how the spring goes, there may still be snow on the ground!
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We will provide all meals throughout the trip. Alcoholic drinks are allowed, but these will need to be purchased on your own and brought with.
* We will try and make time to stop at System Bolaget in Falun so people can purchase wine or beer for their stay. You may bring this with you into Norway, as long as you are under the Norwegian Customs allowance - See HERE for more details.
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Your DRIVERS LICENSE - If you are planning to help drive.
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Lots of warm layers to wear outdoors.
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A few warm weather layers (e.g., t-shirt).
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A rain shell and rain pants. An umbrella is never a bad idea in Scandinavia during the spring.
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Hiking boots or warm outdoor footware for hiking. Comfortable shoes for traveling.
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A small packpack to carry layers and rain jackets while in the field and to have with you in the car.
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Gloves, hats, mittens, scarves, or whatever else you need to keep warm in cold weather.
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A water bottle - You must provide your own water. Be sure to stay hyradted throughout the day!
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Binoculars if you have them.
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Any medications or other incidental items you may need. We will likely not have many opportunities to stop at a store.
Boreal forests provide the basis for two important parts of Inner Scandinavia’s cultural heritage, forestry and moose hunting, which are of great economic and cultural value in the region. During the last decades, moose population development in Scandinavia has varied greatly among areas, as a result of altered harvesting regimes, forestry practices, and the return of large carnivores. Large carnivores now form part of the region’s natural heritage. Where the natural and cultural heritages intersect, conflicts arise, such as human-carnivore competition for game, wolf-killed hunting dogs and damage to forest stands in areas of high moose densities.
The past four years, important changes have happened in Inner Scandinavia. A reduction of the moose population to mitigate browsing damage to forestry in parts of the region coincides with increased wolf density and the wolverine’s return. However, there are great knowledge gaps regarding the effects of various factors on the moose harvest, consequences of a denser wolf population, and the ecology of forest wolverines.
Whereas wildlife move freely across administrative borders and their home ranges often span several administrative units, management is still characterized by administrative border barriers. In Inner Scandinavia, moose, wolves and wolverines are distributed across the national border, and transborder moose migration leads to an uneven distribution of income from the moose harvest and costs from browsing damage to forest stands. Still, management is inadequately coordinated between the countries, and largely focuses on individual species, not on a multispecies or ecosystem level. Good ecosystem management is based on mutual dialogue across administrative borders at different spatial scales, allowing for a mutual agreement on how to manage wildlife and forests. To achieve this, there is a great need for knowledge that addresses challenges in cross-border management of moose and carnivores, and increased dialogue and interaction across the national border. The overall goal of GRENSEVILT is to provide a solid base for a better transnational, inclusive, conflict-reducing multispecies management of moose, wolves and wolverines in Inner Scandinavia, across the national border outside reindeer herding areas.
This animation shows movement patterns of a GPS-equipped male wolf in the wolf area known as Norrsjön, which is in the GRENSEVILT study area. The male's movement pattern and the ungulates (moose, deer, red deer and wild boar) that were killed by wolves are shown for a period of six weeks starting in mid-March 2018. The animated movements are based on one GPS position per day, but the wolfs GPS collar was programmed to take a position every hour for the predation study.
This animation shows the movement patterns of 34 GPS-equipped moose (26 cows and 9 bulls) in the GRENSEVILT study area. The moose's movements are shown over the course of one year, from March 2019 to February 2020. Different individuals are illustrated with different colors and symbols for gender (bull / cow). All movements are based on one GPS position per day.
If you cancel the trip of your own accord on or before March 1, 2023, you be refunded 50% of your registration fee. Any cancellations after March 1, 2023 will not be refunded.