Welcome to join the Final Conference of the Interreg Aurora funded project Felles fjellrev – Together for the Arctic fox, taking place 23 September 2026 at the Kilpisjärvi Biological Station in Finland. Conference presentations will also be available through Teams webinar link and will be streamed on YouTube. The webinar is open for everyone. It is also possible to join the conference seminar at Kilpisjärvi Biological station, but places are limited.
During the conference the project partners will present and discuss conservation measures done, and results achieved, as well as the status and future of arctic fox in Norway, Sweden and Finland.
Felles fjellrev – Together for the Arctic fox Final Conferense
Wednesday 23rd September 2026 (Finnish time zone)
Preliminary agenda/program (changes may occur)
Introduction
09:00 – 09:15 Welcome to Felles fjellrev Arctic fox conference (Jukka Ikonen, Metsähallitus)
09:15 – 09:30 Felles fjellrev – Together for the Arctic fox – project overview (David Bell, County Administrative Board of Norrbotten)
Communication – Information materials
09:30-09:45 Information channels and materials produced by Felles fjellrev (Therese Wåtz, WWF Sweden)
Population status
09:45 – 10:00 Finland – current status of arctic fox (Jukka Ikonen, Metsähallitus)
10:00 – 10:15 Sweden – current status of arctic fox (Johan Wallen, Swedish Museum of Natural History)
10:15 – 10:30 Norway and Fennoscandian total population (Nina E. Eide, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research NINA)
10:30 – 11:00 Coffee break
Conservation measures
11:00-11:15 Supplementary feeding – regional feeding station solutions (Tomas Bergström, County Administrative Board of Jämtland)
11:15 – 11:30 GPS tracking of released arctic foxes (Craig Jackson, NINA)
Interspecific competition
11:30 – 11:45 Managing red foxes in arctic fox habitat – What can we learn from GPS-collared individuals? (Dorothee Ehrich, UiT, The Arctic University of Norway)
11:45 – 12:00 Don’t feed the red fox – campaign (Petteri Tolvanen, WWF Finland)
12:00 – 13:00 Lunch break
Mapping arctic fox genetics and habitat requirements
13:00 – 13:15 Genetic population monitoring at individual level across borders (Karin Norén, Stockholm University)
Diseases
13:15 – 13:30 Screening for parvovirus and adenovirus in red fox and arctic fox using serum filter strips and chest cavity fluid (Andrea Miller, University of Inland Norway INN)
13:30 – 13:45 Disease Surveillance – Can eDNA analysis from scat samples be used to assess disease prevalence? (Kristine Ulvund, NINA)
13:45 – 14:00 Contingency plan for diseases in Arctic foxes – How can we respond to potential outbreaks? (Åsa Granberg, County Administrative Board of Västerbotten)
Rodent dynamics
14:00 – 14:15 Rodent dynamics in NW Lapland: implications for the arctic fox (Heikki Henttonen, Natural Resources Institute Finland LUKE)
Project continuation
14:15 – 14:30 Exit strategy – LIFE programme proposal. How do we continue collaborative efforts across national borders in Fennoscandia? (David Bell, County Administrative Board of Norrbotten)
14:30 – 15:00 Coffee break
Genetics
15:00 – 15:15 Loss of genetic variation and increased levels of inbreeding in the Fennoscandian Arctic fox population (Øystein Flagstad, NINA)
15:15 – 15:30 Strongly deleterious mutations influence reproductive output and longevity in an endangered population (Karin Norén, Stockholm University)
15:30 – 15:45 Optimizing the genetic composition of the Fennoscandian Arctic fox population through release and translocations (Lina Arntsen, NINA)
Future
15:45 – 16:00 Developing a Management Strategy Evaluation Framework for Arctic Fox Recovery (Inari Helle/Samu Mäntyniemi, Natural Resources Institute Finland LUKE)
16:00 – 16:30 Moving forward – how do we continue to keep the population growing (Anders Angerbjörn, Stockholm University)
16:30 Thank you and final words – End of program
Learn more about the project Felles Fjellrev – Together for the arctic fox
