Evgeny Lyulin proposed to simplify the procedure for eliminating windfalls in forests.

      On April 20, 2026, at 21:06 Society On April 17, in Yoshkar-Ola, the chairman of the Council of Legislators of the Volga Federal District, speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Nizhny Novgorod region, Yevgeny Lyulin, held a plenary session of the Council of Legislators. The meeting was attended by the deputy plenipotentiary representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Volga Federal District, Igor Burenkov, representatives of the People's Council of the LPR, and the Association of the Far East and Transbaikal. One of the topics discussed by the legislators of the district was the issue of eliminating the consequences of adverse weather phenomena in forests — windfalls, broken trees, and snowfalls. According to the Nizhny Novgorod region, in 2025 alone, 1,178 hectares of damaged plantations were identified. However, due to lengthy bureaucratic procedures, sanitary and health measures were only carried out on 784 hectares. As of the beginning of 2026, the area of forests requiring clearing was 662 hectares. The existing procedure for eliminating windfalls includes several stages: forest pathology examination (about a month), verification of information accuracy (20 days), amendments to the forest management regulations (at least 30 days), then changes to the lease agreement and forest development project, and only after that – the issuance of a forest declaration. As a result, more than a year often passes from the moment of damage to the start of logging. During this time, commercial timber loses its quality, turning into firewood, and fallen trees become breeding grounds for pests and diseases. "Windfall is a force of nature almost as dangerous to the forest as fire. But today's procedure for its elimination has turned into an insurmountable bureaucratic 'breakage.' The forest is rotting, and people cannot start work because the paperwork takes longer than the actual elimination of the consequences. We must fix this," said the chairman of the Council of Legislators of the Volga Federal District, chairman of the Legislative Assembly of the Nizhny Novgorod region, Yevgeny Lyulin. Following the discussion, the Council of Legislators of the Volga Federal District decided to send a set of proposals to the Government of Russia and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation. For example, legislators propose to reduce the verification period for the accuracy of information about the sanitary condition of forests from 20 to 5 days for areas where more than 50 percent of the plantations have died. In addition, it is proposed to provide for a special procedure for introducing a state of emergency not only during forest fires but also during windfalls and breakages, as well as to allow the creation of forest roads for the removal of damaged timber, including in protective forests. NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" has a Telegram channel. Subscribe to stay updated on major events, exclusive materials, and operational information. Copyright © 1999—2025 NIA "Nizhny Novgorod". When reprinting, a hyperlink to NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" is mandatory. This resource may contain materials 18+