Scientists banned from the forest

On the 8th of June heavy wood harvesting machines were blocked by a group of activists. The activists made an appeal to let scientists come to the forest, to the places were trees had been logged, and to make a scientific assessment of the logged trees – whether they were infected by the spruce bark beetle or not. They were to check if the cuttings in the zone protected by UNESCO and in over century-year-old forest stands could be somehow justified.

However, when on June 9, four distinguished scientists arrived at the site, they were immediately asked to prove their identity. The foresters made it impossible for the scientists to get to timber depots, trying to hide mass destruction of whole wooded areas. Finally, it was demanded for the scientists to leave. It should be pointed out that the chief forester of the Hajnówka forest district, Grzegorz Bielecki, had previously declared open access to the forest for all scientists and researchers.

prof. Wesołowski