Reconnecting the trail - the bottlenecks of Duokta

The consequences of large development projects in Sámi reindeer husbandry areas are central to the discourse of the green transition. This project addresses the cumulative effect of several smaller landscape encroachments in the valley of Heggemoen that is a popular recreation area. It is a crucial area for the Duokta reindeer grazing district because it is the only passage between the winter pastures and the calving grounds. Taken together the different obstacles in the landscape and the human activities produces a bottleneck situation for the reindeer herd that makes it difficult for the herders to make the herd graze and move through the area. The central question is how a landscape architect can design for reindeer in an area that becomes increasingly difficult to pass. Based on maps and models and media analysis the project demonstrates understanding of the landscape practices in reindeer grazing district 26 Doukta. Taking a more than human perspective, the design interventions answers to the reindeer’s needs by making an inaccessible areas accessible again and reconnecting a severed passage. An ecological passage facilitates the crossing of a waterpipe leading to a hydropower plant. Revegetating an area that previously served as a night pasture area, and removing a fence opens an important resting place along the migration route.