The raw timber was never the issue here. The environmental impact is, and exactly why this is major news now.

Removing forest soil has exposed anaerobic soil layers to oxygen. It also causes rainfall to flood into nearby freshwater. The Oulujoki river basin is now facing contamination with acidic runoff and sedimentation.

Uncontrolled hydrological changes may have an irreversible environmental impact. Similar destruction of hydrological environments was huge news in 2024, when a forestry corporation destroyed the habitat of endangered freshwater pearl mussels.

People in Finland don't take irreversible environmental damage lightly.