Sæteråsen Habitat Forest

The area is rich in history and hosts some of the oldest settled areas in Northern Norway. During the Viking Age the region was a political and religious power center with a major marketplace linking coastal and inland communities.

The Sæteråsen forest preservation area is valued as a green space close to Harstad in Northern Norway, with trails, small roads and a riding school, and with roots reaching back into the deep human history of the region where people have lived for over 3000 years. 

Traditionally the areas North of the arctic circle were dominated by birch and mixed broadleaf forests with limited forestry activities, but in the 1940s Norway launched a national reforestation program and introduced Norway spruce. These forests have now grown to harvest maturity and are highly valuable for ecosystem services including biodiversity habitats, carbon storage and recreation.

Fossagrim and the landowner have entered into an exclusive agreement securing continued and undisturbed forest growth for at least 30 years. Sæteråsen will serve as a Fossagrim Habitat Forest, combining ecosystem services for biodiversity and natural carbon storage with local community values