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border=0 alt=""> Lake Tulos lies in the Muezersky District, close to the Russian-Finnish border, in the divide between the Baltic and White Sea drainage basins. This is a typical north-Karelian, deep, oligotrophic lake occupying 95 sq. kilometres in the hilly-ridge landscape of the tectonic denudation genesis. The lake has a broken shoreline with narrow inlets and over 140 islands, rendering it very scenic. The beautiful river Tula (Luzhma), with many rapids originates from the lake. The fish population of the lake comprises 14 species, including some valuable ones such as the brown trout, whitefishes, grayling, vendace. High-rising shores of the lake and its numerous islands are covered in pine forests, some of which, growing on the western shore, which runs along the national border, are old-growth pristine stands, with no obvious traces of cuttings.


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border=0 alt=""> The lake is situated beyond the borderline engineering facilities limit, and access to the lake is therefore restricted and controlled by border guards. The territory has no resident population.


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border=0 alt=""> In 1992, Lake Tulos area was included in the prospective PA network of Karelia. The "Tulos" National Park, with an area of 80,000 ha, was then made part of the "Prospective PA network of Russia for 1994-2005", but was not designated. In 1999-2001, a new detailed feasibility study for the park designation in an area of 62,000 ha, called "Proposals for designation of the Tulos National Park" (2001), was prepared within the Tacis project "Karelia parks development".


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border=0 alt=""> As the park was not included in the new prospective list of Russian PA's for 2001-2010, a reasonable measure for the coming years would be to designate about 30,000 ha in the area as a landscape reserve to preserve the typical north-taiga landscape with a large ultrafresh lake showing no signs of pollution and featuring a rich fish fauna. The forests and mires of the reserve would serve the conservation of some rare animals (including a unique taiga reindeer population) and plants (Proposals: 2001). In the future, when the border zone regulations are relieved, the natural park can be established in place of the reserve. The territory holds good potential for various types of nature-based tourism (water routes on Lake Tulos and rivers Luzhma and Lenderka), combined boating-walking tours in summer, winter tours on snowmobiles and various kinds of recreation (summer and winter fishing, bird and reindeer watching from towers, etc.).


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border=0 alt=""> Thus, the first expedient step would be to set the Lake Tulos area aside with the status of a landscape reserve (the designation decision is then the authority of the Republic of Karelia Government). Its area should be limited to a 500-metre wide waterside shelterbelt around Lake Tulos and a small adjacent fragment of well-preserved pristine forest in a two-kilometre wide frontier zone. The total area would then be reduced to 20,000-25,000 ha, including 11,000 ha of Lake Tulos.


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border=0 alt=""> In the south of the district, 20 km away from the village of Sukkozero, one finds mount Vottovaara, the highest point of the West Karelian upland (417.1 m). The mount is listed in official records as a cultural-historical (archaeological) monument of regional importance. It can be used as a valuable tourism object.

Expert: O.L.Kuznetsov.