Skärjån, Naturreservat

The area stretches from Lake Stor-Skärjan in the west to Axmar Bruk in the east. The river is one of the county's most valuable flowing watercourses with surrounding deciduous riparian forests. In Skärjåns nature reserve you can walk, fish and experience the cultural history of the area. Or take a break at the barbecue areas and shelters. The footbridges over the river and the forests offer great nature experiences. The area is located west of Axmar Mill and covers 192 hectares.

People have lived in the area for a long time. There are exciting remains of settlements and coal mining facilities. But there are also traces of rafting, sawmills and iron production.

Skärjån has a southern character and some species grow here further north than usual. One example is the fern safsa, which grows in the flowing water. The usual tall herbs such as torchflower, meadow rue, bunchgrass, sword lily and willowherb grow here. But there are also the more unusual and southern species such as hempclover, beach clover and sea anemone. Olvium and small ash shoots are very common.

Several species of thorny fungi occur in the riparian forests. The shore zone consists largely of flats. At times they are flooded land with flood sediments. Here you will find lush riparian forests with silver birch, silver birch, ash, aspen and beech, but also younger areas of birch. On aspen and ash you can find species worthy of protection such as coral lead lichen, large aspen tick and leather lichen.

Valuable for many

The river is home to both rare species. These are species that are sensitive to pollution or acidification. For example, the river pearl mussel and various mayflies live here. Birds such as the great tit, grey woodpecker and lesser spotted woodpecker thrive in the deciduous forests. The nature reserve is also home to the common tern and three-toed woodpecker. There are also otters in the area.

Fiskekartan.se is the county administrative boards' register of fisheries management areas. The tool is a searchable map and here you can see the boundaries of all Sweden's fisheries management areas. A fishing licence is required for all waters shown on the map. There is also a lot of other information, such as which fish species are available, links to fishing license sellers and the associations' websites.