Description of the attraction
At the mouth of the Chernaya River, in the place where the Gladyshevka River flows into it, on the territory of two neighboring districts: Vyborg (Leningrad Oblast) and Kurortny (St. Petersburg), there is the Gladyshevsky Wildlife Refuge, which belongs to the specially protected territories of the Russian Federation. Gladyshevsky nature reserve was organized thanks to joint orders of the heads of the Leningrad Regional Administration and St. Petersburg, signed on July 26, 1996.
The area of the protected area is more than 8000 hectares. This nature reserve is located on a mountain ledge that separates the lower sea terrace and the glacier-lacustrine plain.
The name of the reserve is directly related to the names of the Gladyshevka River (Finn. "Vammeljoki" or "Vammelyarvi") and Gladyshevskoe Lake. The Gladyshevka River, merging 4 km from the coast with Roshinka (Finn. "Raivolanjoki" or "Lintulanjoki"), passes on the lands of the reserve into the Chernaya River.
About 760 hectares of the nature reserve are located on the territory of the villages of Molodezhny and Serovo.
The main task of the employees of the Gladyshevsky Reserve is to preserve the place of population and habitat of the European pearl mussel, listed in the International Red Book, fish of the most valuable salmon species, and the fight against illegal and poaching methods of fishing. Most of the Gladyshevsky Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the Leningrad Region, in places where salmon spawn annually at the headwaters of rivers. On the territory of the reserve, up to 20 thousand salmon fry are released annually into the Gladyshevka and Roshchinka rivers. These activities are jointly carried out by the Directorate of Protected Areas (Specially Protected Areas) and the regional environmental services. Salmon fish species are released in areas where pearl mussels are found, as they form a natural symbiosis.
Not far from the Gladyshevsky reserve is the Lindulovskaya Grove, which is a natural monument included in the UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage List.
In 2011, an ecological camp was created on the basis of the existing sports and recreation complex within the framework of the joint Russian-Finnish project “Rivers and fish stocks are our common interests” in the Gladyshsky nature reserve. The main task of the project participants is to restore the population of valuable salmon species in the rivers of Russia and Finland. Practical and lecture classes are constantly held in the eco-camp, which are conducted by employees of environmental institutes and organizations, charitable organizations of both sides of the project. Leading researchers of research institutes and laboratories engaged in the study of environmental problems, lake and river economy both in Russia and in Finland have repeatedly delivered speeches to the students of universities in St. Petersburg and Russia, Finland. The administration of the Vyborgsky region and the Committee for Natural Resources of the Russian Federation take an active part in the work of the ecological camp. Practical training with special equipment designed for the study of river fauna and flora is held in the eco-camp, samples of zooplankton and zoobenthos are collected.
The joint environmental project is planned to be completed in 2014. Finnish experience is used to restore the salmon population on the territory of the Gladyshevsky Reserve. Here, work is underway to restore and clean up rapids in river beds, dismantle dams left over from the hydroelectric power station, and reclaim coastal areas. The reserve has organized recreation areas, beaches, eco-trails that do not harm the animal world.
