Nat Geo fights Swedish reindeer helicopter ban
National Geographic has appealed a ban on its photographers taking a helicopter into the Sarek national park, which Swedish officials said risked disturbing the indigenous Samis' grazing reindeer in the World Heritage wilderness.
Kathy Moran, senior editor at the magazine that has 40 million readers worldwide, in June asked Swedish officials to consider allowing Norwegian photographers Orsolya and Erlend Haarberg to fly into the far northern park with all their equipment.
That does not sit well with the Sami who make their living on the hills, which were classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.
"Freelance photographers and filmmakers apply for the right to land all the time, but there is never such a hullabaloo when they are declined, it's just because it's National Geographic this time that people are kicking up a fuss," said Jakob Nygård, chairman of local Sami village council Sirges, whose 500 members together own more than 15,000 reindeer.
The US-based magazine was hoping, however, to get a landing permit as their photographers are lugging heavy equipment.
Nat Geo fights Swedish reindeer helicopter ban - The Local