Create a reserve “Free Svidovets”
April 3, 2023The law 9136 will mean the great destruction of nature reserves
April 5, 2023
We are happy and proud, because thanks to our work, new nature conservation areas have appeared in the Lviv region: the hydrological reserve “Travertine springs” and the primeval forest natural monument of local importance “Blyzki”, with a total area of almost 95 hectares. The decision to create them was made at a session of the Lviv Regional Council.
The hydrological reserve “Travertine Springs” with an area of 4.4 hectares is located within the limits of Lviv on the Maiorivsky stream (the right tributary of the river Marunky) in the Vynnykiv forest.
It was created by our experts PhD. Oleg Orlov, and PhD. Marina Ragulina.
The purpose of creating the reserve is to preserve rare natural formations – travertines (limestone tuffs). Limestone tuffs are carbonate deposits in freshwater reservoirs, which are habitats for many species of plants and animals.
“The formation of limestone deposits is caused not only by the “hardness” of water, but also by the participation of living organisms: bacteria, algae and mosses. They contribute to the deposition of carbonates and form a kind of “freshwater reefs”, which consist of their calcified remains and become a refuge for many invertebrates,” says bryologist Maryna Ragulina.
Among the main threats to the natural regime of the geological and hydrological reserve are the clearing of springs for water intake by the local population, as well as the deepening and straightening of the channel by natural “improvement”.
The primeval forest natural monument of local importance “Blyztsi” with an area of 90.1 hectares is located on the territory of the branch of “Slavske Forestry” on the edge of Lviv Oblast. It is mostly a beech forest over 150-200 years old. Here you can see the species listed in the Red Book, such as the forest lily, the sedum, the common nestling, the double-leaved lovage, and others.
“There are two mountains nearby, very similar to each other. This is where the name of the Bliztsi tract comes from. – says Andrii Kalyuzhny, head forester of the “Slavske Forestry” branch of the State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine”. – The area of the forest has remained almost untouched and unaltered by man due to its difficult accessibility. Beech forests remained on this territory, which at one time did not have time to be cut down and planted with spruce plantations.”
Creating a nature conservation facility is a long and complex process. After scientific research, preparation of justifications and cartographic materials, there are sometimes years of approvals, legal verification and waiting.
We are sincerely glad that about 100 hectares of valuable natural areas have been given a chance to be preserved. However, we hope that in the near future, more primeval natural monuments of local importance and the protected tract “Katyna” will receive nature protection status.
We thank the leadership of the Lviv Regional Department of Forestry and Hunting (Western Interregional ULMG), SE “Slavskyi Forestry”, SE “Lviv Forestry”, Department of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Lviv Regional State Administration for their assistance.
We thank the defenders that we can live and work in free Ukraine. But we urge you to support their heroic work by all possible means.
