In order to respond to global competition challenges, the woodprocessing industry in Finland and elsewhere is outsourcing roundwood harvesting to harvesting contractors. The industry also seeks to negotiate with fewer, larger and more diverse contractor enterprises. The weak profitability, liquidity and solvency of harvesting contractors and the consequent difficulty in hiring qualified machine operators make networking and enterprise growth a complicated process. Financial data of 1,060 Finnish wood harvesting contractors from the period 2001 to 2007 were studied using the 'closing of the accounts' data. The material represents most of the full-time contractors. For 2007 net profit was about 6%, credit share of turnover over 50% and median financial reserve €18,000. High machine depreciation and interest expenses together with low solidity make it difficult for small enterprises to absorb seasonal variations and to cope with recessions. Profitability varies considerably amongst smallest enterprises, which most often are soleoperator enterprises. Moreover, even the median profit of the smallest enterprises tends to be negative, which means that enterprise capital will be consumed and many enterprises are at risk of failure. Larger enterprises are more likely to be limited liability companies. Their median profit is clearly positive and the profit varies relative little between enterprises.

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High participation in recreational fishing in Finland was explained by the tradition of families occupying summer cottages and spending leisure time close to lakes or the sea shore in summer. The characteristics of cottage dwelling fishers and other recreational fishers were compared. The summer cottage culture enhances fishing participation of urban citizens, notably children and women. Children were often introduced to fishing while dwelling in the cottages with their family. Cottage fishers favour simple angling, but catch-oriented fishing with gill nets and wire traps is also popular. Preparing meals based on the catch is an important part of Finnish cottage life, where rural traditions are mixed with the modern and urban. Summer cottage dwellers form an important group to improve local management of problems arising from intense fishing participation and divergent interests in the country. K E Y W O R D S :

This study examines the impacts of socio-demographic, economic and park quality determinants on visits to nature areas. The authors apply panel data estimation techniques to Finnish data on 46 national parks and hiking areas between 2000 and 2008. The main results show that ‘visits to nature areas’, as a variable, reacts positively to the population size and quality features but negatively to gasoline prices and income level. Of the age classes, the population share of ‘young retirees’ – people aged between 65 and 74 – increased the number of visits to nature areas significantly, whereas the share of ‘baby boomers’ – people aged between 55 and 64 – was insignificant in explaining the number of visits. As the baby boomers are reaching retirement age, and assuming that their generation behaves like the young retirees in this study, the demand for national parks and hiking areas may increase substantially in the coming years. This will increase the pressure to expand current parks and establish new ones.

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