The minister mentioned for example the following: ”Negotiations between reindeer herding co-operatives and Metsähallitus will continue on June 9th. If a joint understanding with co-operatives is not reached, the Natural Resources Plan Update –project will in any case make its proposal after a broad working group has handled the issue.”

”The lay-off is still a threat for forestry workers in Upper Lapland. However, the employment must be guaranteed. Later during the autumn, this requires logging in the areas which are subject to demands. Metsähallitus is seeking a solution with the reindeer herding co-operatives, but the aim is to continue forestry in normal scale during the NRP process.”

”Metsähallitus is seeking a solution, which would allow taking into account the relevant advantages of different forms of land use. Only a multiple land use solution, that is: forestry and reideer herding using the lands at the same time, allows a satisfactory compromise.”

It seems like the minister thinks that to combine forestry and reindeer herding it is necessary to log wherever Metsähallitus wants, and that the negotiations with reindeer herders are only a delusion. Furthermore, the minister seems to think that the ”normal” extent of forestry is the level of logging planned for the spring 2005.

Why it is at all necessary to negotiate with the reindeer herders and the Sámi parliament if the scale of forestry has already been decided, as has been the fact that the important grazing areas shall be logged? And why a condition where Sámi reindeer herders have to suffer from problems created by Finnish forestry is considered ”normal”?