A multi-generational forest in Arjeplog became the scene of an illegal climate action when Greta Thunberg and other climate extremists chained themselves to machinery and halted ongoing logging. Forest owner Beatrice Karlsson is distraught – and now hopes that politicians will close the gaps in the law.
In the forests outside Korsträsk, thirty kilometers west of Arjeplog, Beatrice Karlsson’s family has been working the land for generations. When she bought out her sister in 2021 and took over the responsibility, she felt pride – the forest was both heritage and future.
She tells Näringslivet that becoming a forest owner is something very special to her. Already as a child, she learned from her parents how to take care of a forest with understanding.
Extremists chained themselves
To finance the renovation of the family farm, Beatrice planned to log just over 43 hectares of forest in cooperation with SCA. Consideration for nature and reindeer husbandry was taken, including exempting 8.5 hectares and choosing gentle soil preparation.
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But just days after the logging began, climate extremists showed up in the area – among them Greta Thunberg. They set up tents, followed the machines, and chained themselves to the equipment. Police were called, but the work still had to be halted.
Karlsson says she was ‘shocked and distraught’. Moreover, the activists didn’t even seem to know who owned the land, believing it was SCA or pretending so for more attention and to garner more sympathy by clashing with a large forestry company rather than a small individual forest owner.
“Greta Thunberg knows nothing about my forest”
Beatrice Karlsson is convinced that the activists were helped to find the remote location. According to her, these are professional activists/extremists who systematically carry out these types of actions.
– Greta Thunberg found her way here too. She knows nothing about my forest or what I stand for. I have followed the Forestry Act and taken extra environmental considerations – yet I am being vilified, she says.
After several days in the forest, the extremists submitted a malicious report to the Land and Environment Court. This after finding traces that they claimed could belong to a three-toed woodpecker. The court decided on a temporary halt to the logging.
“Abusing the system and smearing forest owners”
The Swedish Forest Agency’s opinion indeed showed that the logging does not violate the Species Protection Ordinance. But Karlsson and SCA are awaiting further decisions to be able to resume work. She argues that the system is open to abuse, creating conflicts and smearing individual forest owners.
– They don’t hesitate to sabotage permitted activities, says Karlsson to TN.
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In recent years, Greta Thunberg has been arrested and removed by the police in several similar climate actions, including in Oslo and Germany. The action in Arjeplog follows the same pattern of offenses under the new-speak term ‘civil disobedience’, where the extremists claim to want to protect nature but choose to do so outside the bounds of the law and democracy.
“Criminal acts without consequences”
Police have launched a preliminary investigation into unauthorized action, but Karlsson argues that the legal system is toothless. She believes it is unreasonable that activists and extremists can trespass and commit criminal acts without any consequences.
But despite the concern, Karlsson refuses to give up hope of continuing to work the forest as her family has done for generations. But for that to happen, changes must be made – no one will want to be a forest owner and invest money and time only to be stopped. ‘We can’t have it like this’, she asserts.
Extremism spreading in Swedish forests
Beatrice Karlsson’s case is not unique. In recent years, climate extremists across the country have ventured into the forests in search of red-listed species to try to halt logging. Statistics from Artportalen show that reports of protected species have increased explosively – alleged sightings of the three-toed woodpecker have more than doubled between 2022 and 2024.
Forest owners tell TN about threats, financial losses, and operations that are paralyzed. Another family-owned farm threatened by climate extremists is forest owner Kurt Hyttsten after claims that woodpecker traces were found on his land.
– They sneak around the forest in silence. It was a shock when I found out they had been here long before we even planned logging.
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For Hyttsten, the decision means that 78 percent of his forest land cannot be logged – risking the future of the entire operation. He calls it ‘completely horrendous’ and argues that if these illegal actions are allowed to continue, they risk wiping out a farm that produces food and timber every day.
Forest companies: ‘Working environment threatened’
Even the larger companies warn of the consequences. They acknowledge the importance of protecting endangered species but argue that it must be balanced against legal certainty and respect for the forest owners’ operations. Vague legislation, climate extremist actions, and accompanying legalism create uncertainty and legal losses, explains Anders Edholm, sustainability director at SCA, to TN.
He also points out that the presence of climate extremists creates anxiety among employees when they suddenly and confrontationally appear in the forest. It is not reasonable, he tells TN, and also believes it is a form of meaningless actions that shift focus from real solutions.
Capercaillies halted million investment – ‘Property rights mean nothing’
Even in southern Sweden, forest owners face similar obstacles, albeit in a different form. Kristofer Stigen in Bollebygd has been fighting for the right to log his own land since 2019, but is stopped because of four capercaillies.
The decision, based on the Species Protection Ordinance, means he has lost the opportunity to use up to 60 percent of his forest land, worth around 1.5 million SEK. He feels surreal that something like this could happen. ‘Property rights mean nothing anymore’, he says resignedly.
Despite the species being huntable in Sweden, Stigen was denied both logging and financial compensation. His case has gone through several legal instances and is now expected to be tried in the Land and Environment Court of Appeal.
– For a small family forest operation, this means years of missed investments. I know landowners who don’t even dare to mention that they’ve seen capercaillies on their land, for fear of logging bans, he explains to TN.
Political debate on property rights
The Swedish Forest Agency responds that the decisions follow current legislation and that changes must come from a political level. The government has previously promised strengthened self-determination for forest owners, but according to Stigen, no concrete changes have occurred.
Together with other landowners, he has now turned to the Constitutional Committee to demand a review. Many are stuck in the same situation, and if more people realize the consequences of climate extremists’ actions, perhaps something will eventually change, they hope.
A growing conflict in the forest
From the mountain forests of Arjeplog to the lands of Bollebygd, frustration is growing among Swedish forest owners. For many, climate extremism – with Greta Thunberg as the figurehead – is perceived as a movement that increasingly disregards democratic rules, legislation, and individuals’ right to use their land.
The extremists themselves argue that the offenses constitute a necessary wake-up call about the imminent demise they believe the earth is facing in a climate catastrophe. But regardless of the standpoint, there is no doubt that the conflict between environmental commitment and property rights has moved from the debate pages – out into reality and into the Swedish forest.