The Estonian state has selected a new potential corridor for the Rail Baltica line in southern Pärnu County, adjacent to the Latvian border; eleven new capercaillie habitats are to be created to compensate for disruption to existing ones as a result.

Eleri Kautlenbach, head of national planning at the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture, said: "Studies have been conducted whereby radio transmitters were placed on capercaillies to observe their movements."

"Currently, about 13 capercaillie live in Luitemaa, but the target to support population growth is 24. For this to occur they need to interact with capercaillies in Soomaa and Põhja-Liivimaa. These are protected areas with the best forests for capercaillies, areas where they will feel secure," Kautlenbach went on.

Kautlenbach said that it is important that landowners know that they can continue to manage their land, and particularly forest, as before, with the exception of 10 hectare zones within private land set aside for capercaillie. Tree felling in such zones is prohibited without an impact assessment

"Additionally, most of the buffer zones prohibit land clearing to prevent significant changes to the forest landscape. This restriction will apply for roughly the next 10 years," she added.

Back in 2020 the Supreme Court had annulled permission to consturct a 45-kilometer section of the Rail Baltica route in Southern Pärnu County, due to insufficient assessment of its impact on the capercaillie.

Six new route options were then developed, with one now having been selected and shifted eastward compared to the previous one.

The new route was chosen while taking into consideration its impact on both human inhabitants and wildlife, though it became clear that impacts on capercaillie habitats could not be completely avoided.

The new capercaillie habitats should cover nearly 5,000 hectares of state land, while a, a buffer zone totaling 17,000 hectares will be established around these. Approximately 6,000 hectares of these buffer zones will lie on private land, affecting some 450 landowners, who will have to comply with restrictions noted above.

One landowner, Aime Viirelaid, who has a summer home in Häädemeeste Rural Municipality and near the planned route, said felt that the restrictions wouldn't significantly impact on her, having attended an information day, not least because she does not plan to carry out any felling or clearing, nor install any power cables in the affected area.

The county plan is expected to be finalized by the end of the year, allowing project planning to begin.

Janis Erilaid, project manager at Rail Baltic Estonia OÜ, said once that plan is established, the project can continue.

"Our current goal is to begin constructing the main Rail Baltica route in Pärnu County in 2026, more specifically mid-way through the year," Erilaid said.

A public exhibition and showcasing and discussions of the Southern Pärnu County route corridor is set to start next month.

Rail Baltica's current scheduled completion date is 2030. When finished it will link Tallinn to Warsaw, via Riga and Kaunas (Lithuania).

In Europe outside Scandinavia and the Baltic states the Western capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) is rare. In the U.K. for instance it is only found in parts of Scotland and is closely associated with that country – the bird's name has a Scottish Gaelic etymology.

Numbers are much higher in Finland, where it appears on the crest of the Keski-Suomen region, but it is still classified as threatened. Logging and damage to its environment in Finland has led to solitary capercaillie becoming more aggressive, reportedly even towards humans.

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