Welcome to Norra Mora Vildmark If trees could talk … Since clear-cutting as practiced today did not come into fa- Nature Reserve shion until the middle of the last century, many trees were The reserve covers 14 928 hectares. It is protected to conserve an left. Th e forest is noticeably varied in age, and is a very na- environment with unique species and spectacular scenery. The tural forest. nature reserve was established thanks to the cooperation of the common forests of Östnor, Rymdalen, Färnäs, Nusnäs and Garsås, In the nature reserve, pine and spruce trees of 200 to 300 who are landowners in the reserve. Small parts are owned by the years of age are more the rule than the exception. In several State. The reserve is managed by the County Administrative Board. places there are pines of 400 to 500 years of age or more. Th e cause of the great age is the meagre bedrock with granite and Within the nature reserve, it is forbidden to: porphyry, the harsh loca- drive motor vehicles off -road, with the exception of snowmo- tion and the recurring biles on marked trails when the ground is snow-covered, and fi res that impregnate with the exception of residents of the area who may travel to the pine with resin. and from existing trails. Borderlands and forest living singing calling their cows home. In winter long lines of hor- At Skuråstelet there Mountains or low alpine plateaus? damage living or dead trees, with the exception of the gathe- Hare’s-tail cottongrass A popular place to visit, that was already written about in ses and sledges arrived, with which men conveyed iron traps, is an old forest fi re But for how much longer? ring of fallen branches for fi rewood. 1403 is Korskälla, in Krosskeldo. Th is was a resting place timber and diff erent types of animal fodder”. site, with living trees In the north-western part of Norra Mora Vildmark “A corner beyond all honour and decency” for pilgrims on the journey to St. Olaf’s tomb at Nidaros Th e large mires provided iron for scythes made at the Långö bearing traces of fi res lies the ’s highest peak, Knausås, at 787 On the 12th June 1686, the Swedish King Carl XI wrote in (Trondheim), as well as a border post. works, hay for winter fodder and also grazing for the animals from the seventeenth metres above sea level. Munkhäden is three metres How to get to the nature reserve: his diary that he travelled through “the twelve league forests Th e old marketplace at Jamtmot is far more mythical, on the summer farms. Th ere are a number of historic iron ore century. Landledar- lower, but still 20 metres higher than the well-known that divide Härjedalen and ”. He stayed at Ulvsjön, a which may have been used in the fi fteenth century. It was extraction sites in Norra Mora Vildmark, and mire hay was åsen and Rövarberget Anjosvarden. These low-alpine plateaus are a mixture Drive via Älvdalen or Lillhärdal desolate place where, forty years prior to the King’s visit, there certainly a meeting place for traders during the Little Ice Age gathered as recently as the 1950s. boast thousands of pi- of mountain and forest. This area can be regarded as Orsa. Car park and NORRA was a border between and . in the eighteenth century. Th e writer Lars Levander wrote Th is area was on the edge of the region to the east used by nes with so-called fi re an archipelago of low alpine plateaus (over thirty), MORA information signs VILDMARK can be found at Carl XI met some fellows from Mora, and complained of that many came here, such as “Jämtlanders with butter and Finns who lived on slash-and-burn farming. Th is was also scars, some with scars just above the tree line in north-western Dalarna. They Skuråsen, Vacker- the bad road, but received a witty reply that he did not dis- tallow, Norwegians with herring and sprats, Mora fellows practiced by the summer farmers for improving grazing. At from fi ve diff erent fi res Dead pine arose during the last thousand years by fi res and harsh bodarna and Bränd- like, that the road was the best defence against an enemy in- with clocks, Älvdal people with wrought iron and Venjan Dödåsen, it was said that the goat herders failed to set fi re to during three centuries. climatic conditions. fl joten – see map 0 20 km With the current global warming, these heaths and 70 over the page. vasion. Today the King is still remembered, in the form of the men with glass from the Johnnesholm works”. the poor ground, which is why it is called the “Dead Ridge”. Th e wealth of stan- 45 Älvdalen King’s Road. Th e exact location of the marketplace is not known, and Busk Sigrid at Särnaheden once complained of this work and ding dead pines and spruce is great in almost all of the nature low alpine plateaus will once again be swept into the Furudal taiga’s cloak. In the picture the view from Munkhäden. © Lantmäteriet 2009. Ur GSD-produkter, ärende 106-2004/188 W © Lantmäteriet 2009. Ur GSD-produkter, Twelve league forests are nowadays little heard of outside generations of oral tales have been mixed with fantasy. Per- said that “All want to graze but nothing will burn”. reserve, and wolf lichen is common in many places. How-

Orsa fairy tales. Sweden has only four really large forests left: Mud- haps the winter market was located around Oremyran in the Th e great change to this subsistence farming took place ever, there is a lack of fallen dead trees, particularly pines. In 70 dus, Sjaunja, Pärlälven and a military fi ring range also in the eastern part of the nature reserve? in the nineteenth century, when logging attracted crowds of the more productive parts, largely along streams and spru- Mora far north of the country. In these places, the forest stretches At Rövarbergsgrottan Cave, just north or here, robbers people to the area. Th ings became lively. As a result, there ce-lined valleys, the number of dead and rotting trees has Lung lichen away for ten kilometres in all directions. once dwelt and lay in wait for horse riders. Th e tales of rob- are today only a few untouched forest stands left in the area, happily increased during the last ten years. In the rest of Sweden, the forest landscape is fragmented by bers who were captured, put in irons and beheaded are many. mainly in the landscape between Brynnbärsmoren and Präst- Th e rare bracket fungus Haploporus odorus can be found Produced by administraive Board; Tel 023-810 00 Text: Bengt Oldhammer, Photo: Peter Turander/Azote, Cover, Knausås, Munkhäden, lung logging trails, clear-cuts, young plantations and buildings. An In Härjedalen, it is told how the fi rst shotgun came to the slåttåsen. Mora’s largest old forest lies here. on willows that grow after fi res. Its aniseed scent can be smel- lichen; Pär Johansson/Naturton-wolf lichen, snötyngda granar, bear den, willow grouse, exception is the north of Mora Municipality, a region that is region, and how it was used to dispatch the last robber at led from 20 metres away, and the fungus was in some pla- golden eagle; Jenny Sander-Anjosvarden, Haloporus odorus; Bengt Oldhammer-hare´s- tail unique in southern and central Scandinavia. Jamtmot. ces used in linen cupboards. Linnaeus wrote in his cottongrass; Leif Östergren-bear; Maria Jons-torrtall; Ingegerd Kaptens-Korskällan; Älvda- lens Local History Association-mire hay. In 1921 the writer Karl-Erik Forsslund wrote in his work Th e wilderness was not always wild. On the contrary. Seve- Journey that it “in bygone days it was used by young men for Layout: Leif Olofsson Helldal. Translation: Tim Hipkiss Med Dalälven från källorna till havet (Along the River Daläl- rin Solder writes: “Our vast lands have, since time immemo- encouraging love in maids and acquiring their favour”. ven from its Sources to the Sea), that this was “a corner bey- rial, been travelled. With mire ore and furnaces determined Today the bracket fungus is protected, and one of a hund- ond all honour and decency”. Th e villagers of Garsås thought men worked from spring until Christmas. In summer and red or so rare plants and animals that have been found in their forested outfi elds were so far away that they sometimes winter crowds of mowers and summer farmers could be seen the surveys of this wilderness area, with around 30 in Norra called them . and heard. Th e wilderness was fi lled with sounds from Mora Vildmark. Many more await discovery. Norra Mora Vildmark natural reserve from Anjosvarden natural reserve. Haploporus odorus

A NATURE RESERVE IN DALARNA Knausås 787 m Mire and forest Bears live here Th e nature reserve’s high altitude, combined with high pre- Th is is classic bear country. Visitors frequently see droppings cipitation, gives it a humidity that is one of the highest in or signs in the form of excavated anthills and claw marks on Norra Mora the country. Th e visitor can experience magical mists that pines and sometimes spruce. Th ey often scratch themselves sweep in through the valleys. Th e moisture benefi ts epiphytic against trees, and tussocks of hair can be found in the drip- Vildmark lichens, of which several species drape the trees. ping resin. Th e dens are dug in the large anthills that charac- Th e mires undergo seve- terise sparse pine forest. ral transformations. During Lynx, wolverine and wolf can regularly be seen in the area, autumn the deergrass co- and otters patrol the water courses, having increased greatly lours the mires a magical in recent years. Perhaps the most common predator is the gold. Early on, metre-deep weasel. In winter its tracks can often be seen in the snow, snow covers a desolate and even though it spends most of the time under the snow. See- empty landscape. Hardly ing the diff erence between the tracks of weasels and stoats any life can be heard. is often diffi cult, since female stoats are much smaller than When early summer ap- males. Th eir main prey are bank voles, wood lemmings, grey- proaches, and hare’s-tail cot- sided voles and Norway lemmings, which are all occasionally tongrass sways in the wind, Willow grouse found in the area. the mires spring to life that the northern tundra – there Korskälla are birds everywhere. Mea- dow pipit, yellow wagtail, redpoll, golden plover, wood sandpiper, greenshank and whim- brel can be heard warning or singing as the hiker approaches.

Golden eagle

Lucky visitors might hear broad-billed sandpipers during late June evenings, and ruff can be found at Oremyren. Remote Wilderness a total of 23 000 hectares of protected area. Th ree-toed woodpecker, pine grosbeak and Siberian jay live Bear Today it is still possible to hike through continuous old If you also count the adjoining protected and unprotected in the sparse spruce forests nearby. In some years waxwings forest from the Finnish settlement at Untorp through Norra old forest in the Rotälven and Dyverdalen valleys, and on breed here, and it is an exotic sight to see them skilfully catch Mora Vildmark and on to Härjedalen and the Vedungsfj äl- either side of the Härjedalen border, a further 10 000 hecta- dragonfl ies by the edge of a mire. len Mountains. Th e route is over eighty kilometres long, and res can be added. Th e vole hunters include great grey shrike, hawk owl, passes only two minor roads. Th is wilderness has survived for several reasons. Besides its Tengmalm’s owl, Ural owl, kestrel and rough-legged buzzard. In this wilderness, the rambler can experience complete lonely location, the area was divided between many landow- Golden eagles are seen all year round and the area holds several silence and unbroken views of forest as far as the eye can see. ners. Th ere is probably no other Swedish nature reserve with territories. At the end of February and March they perform A desolate land where time stands still. so many landowners as Norra Mora Vildmark. Th is, in com- courtship displays and tumble about in dangerous aerobatics. Th e Norra Mora Vildmark Nature Reserve covers an area of bination with a barren environment dominated by vast mires Capercaillie, willow grouse and black grouse are characte- 15 000 hectares, and is one of Sweden’s largest outside the and hilltops with alpine characteristics, means that landow- ristic species here. Th ere are many capercaillie lekking sites, mountain region. It is adjoined by the nature reserves Våm- ners in many villages have used the area for hunting, rather and in early winter, groups of a score of cocks can be seen in huskölen, Ansjovarden, Stopån and Näcksjövarden, forming than for forestry and road development. Wolf lichen good years. Th ey often sit in old pines and eat needles. Bear den Norra Mora Vildmark Skala 1:55 000 Storhäden Te ckenförk laring, Legend Allmän väg > 7 m, riksväg, public road/trunk road Allmän väg > 7 m, ej riksväg, public road/trunk road Allmän väg 5-7 m, riksväg, public road/main road Allmän väg 5-7 m, ej riksväg, public road/main road Allmän väg < 5 m, riksväg, public road/secondary road Granåsen Allmän väg < 5 m, ej riksväg, public road/secondary road Bättre bilväg Bilväg Storkölen Sämre bilväg, worse road Triangelpunkt Vattendrag 1, Watercourse 1 Höjdpunkt, height point Ulvsjön Vattendrag 2, Waterco urse 2 Vattendrag 3, Watercourse 3 Rikgsräns, national boundary , rapids Riksröse, cairn Dritränn- Strömriktn ingspil, dire ction of flow Ströskog, scatte red trees Minnessten, monument Dritränn häden Höjdkurva ekvidiatans 10m, contour line vertical interval 10m Fornlämning , ancient monument Vatten, lake or river at least 20m wide Knausåsen Vallen Tätort, built- up area Biologiskt natu rmin ne, site of botanical inte rest Skog, fo re st Geologiskt natu rminne, site of geological inte rest 787 Dödåsen ÖppenK mark, open area Tvonnet Fjällhed,ö låkalfjäll,n area above tree line Gräns för naturr eservat Boundary of nature reserve 759 Ulvsjön Fjällskog, forest of mountain type Lövvassel- Gråfljoten Sankmark, normal eller svårframkomlig, marsh normal or liable to flooding Morvallen Milstolpe Vägbom kölen Hus, storleksklass 3, large building Pers Hus, storleksklass 1, hut Hus, storleksklass 2, house Singelåsen KällåsKlockstapel,en de ta ch ed bell-tower Telefonledning, tele phone line Svantevallen Kraftledning, power transmission line

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