This year, 949 applications were submitted for the competition, and 157 projects were selected as winners, receiving a total of one billion rubles in funding. The winners were announced on February 11 during a meeting of the Coordinating Committee for the Support of Environmental and Conservation Projects, chaired by Sergey Kiriyenko, First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office, and held within the Original Russia festival. Projects can commence on March 1, 2026. Among the 157 winners, five projects belong to researchers from the Karelian Research Centre RAS.
Funding for conservation activities will be granted to Evgeny Khizhkin, Senior Researcher at the Laboratory of Animal Ecological Physiology, Institute of Biology KarRC RAS; Anna Kretova, Research Engineer at the Zoology Laboratory, Institute of Biology KarRC RAS; Konstantin Tirronen, Head of the Zoology Laboratory Laboratory, Institute of Biology KarRC RAS; and Anastasia Pronina, Doctoral Student at the Institute of Biology KarRC RAS. Grant support was also awarded to a project by the Kivach State Nature Reserve prepared in partnership with the Institute of Biology KarRC RAS.
Announcing the outcomes of the Presidential Foundation for Nature 2026 competition
The project "In the last thongs? The vanishing Arctic Fox population of the Kola Peninsula", led by Konstantin Tirronen, Cand. Sci., Head of the Zoology Laboratory, Institute of Biology KarRC RAS, aims to conserve the population of these predators in the Kola Peninsula tundra. This species, while still numerous in the mid-20th century, is now on the brink of extinction in the Murmansk Region, with climate change named as the primary cause. Scientists estimate the Arctic fox population on the Kola Peninsula to be about fifty adult individuals, and in 2026 the species was included in the Red Data Book of the Murmansk Region. Prior to the research done by the Zoology Laboratory of the Institute of Biology KarRC RAS, there had been virtually no information available on the state of the peninsula's Arctic fox population. The project will continue the study of the local population of this species.
- An expedition to the north of the region will be arranged with the main objective of finding Arctic fox nursery dens. To maximize the efficiency of the effort and, most importantly, to save time, it will be preceded by the analysis of satellite imagery. We have previously developed and tested a new approach with the analysis of publicly available satellite images for detecting Arctic fox den sites. These animals rarely move to other dens, and good den sites are used to rear the young by generations of the animals over many years. In our previous studies, for example, we have rediscovered Arctic fox nursery dens on the Kola Peninsula that were first documented back in the 1930s, - informed Konstantin Tirronen.
The author of the project claims that the fieldwork will include both surveys of tundra areas not previously explored for Arctic fox denning sites, as well as reassessment of some dens known for the Kola Peninsula before. It is also supposed to blow the whistle for the vulnerable state of the species in the region.
Konstantin Tirronen, Head of the Zoology Laboratory Laboratory, Institute of Biology KarRC RAS
Anna Kretova, Research Engineer at the Zoology Laboratory of the Institute of Biology KarRC RAS, won the competition with her project "Conservation of the Central Russian Willow Ptarmigan: identifying the causes of the population decline and testing a recovery method". The research is designed to explore the reasons behind the vanishing of this subspecies. The Central Russian Willow Ptarmigan is already listed in the Red Data Book of the Russian Federation as an endangered subspecies. However, the conservation measures, such as hunting restrictions and habitat protection, as well as introduction attempts, have not produced the desired effect.
- The idea of the project is to identify the primary mortality factors and new threats that have emerged in recent decades, as well as to develop new approaches to restoring the willow ptarmigan population, – explained Anna Kretova. – In particular, one potential threat to the subspecies could be the introduced predators – the raccoon dog and the American mink – which ravage grouse nests. We will study their impact using camera traps. Another possible factor for the ptarmigan's decline could be climate change, particularly later snow cover establishment and earlier snowmelt, which makes the birds remain visible to raptors for a longer time.
Simultaneously, the researchers plan to use acoustic attraction methods to draw birds to protected areas, specifically to the Nizhne-Svirsky State Nature Reserve, in order to help restore the ptarmigan population.
Anna Kretova, Research Engineer at the Zoology Laboratory, Institute of Biology KarRC RAS
Anastasia Pronina, Doctoral Student at the Institute of Biology KarRC RAS and Junior Researcher at the Sokhondo State Nature Reserve and Kodar National Park, presented a project for a detailed study of the landscape structure of the Kodar National Park, located in the north of the Zabaykalsky Krai. It will produce cartographic materials for future scientific explorations and monitoring, as well as popular science resources to be used by the national park's environmental education department in its activities for schoolchildren of the Kalarsky District, Zabaykalsky Krai.
- A comprehensive inventory of the natural systems will allow us to map and describe the characteristics of the landscape structure within the study area. By creating a detailed database of the area's landscape diversity we help biologists assess their research subjects’ habitats and their integrity, – emphasized Anastasia Pronina.
Anastasia Pronina, Doctoral Student at the Institute of Biology KarRC RAS
Another project that won in the competition is titled "Monitoring the species composition and abundance of bats at hibernacula on the northern periphery of the range in the Republic of Karelia". It focuses on studying bats as especially vulnerable species and seeks a practical balance between the region's economic development and the conservation of its unique biodiversity. Its author, Evgeny Khizhkin, Cand. Sci., Senior Researcher at the Laboratory of Animal Ecological Physiology, Institute of Biology KarRC RAS, noted that Karelia is still a "blank spot" as regards the availability of publications on the distribution of bats, especially concerning observations at hibernacula.
- Filling the gaps in our knowledge of the bat species diversity and distribution at the northern periphery of their ranges is important for understanding the general patterns in the bat population of our country, - added Evgeny Khizhkin.
Evgeny Khizhkin, Senior Researcher at the Laboratory of Animal Ecological Physiology, Institute of Biology KarRC RAS
The last but not the least among the competition winners is the project "Through times: the pearl mussel and the salmon – together forever." The project was submitted by the Kivach State Nature Reserve in partnership with the Institute of Biology KarRC RAS.
This year’s competition is the second one under this initiative. In 2025, 164 winning projects were selected, including the project "Arctic nature in Paanajarvi National Park", implemented by the North-Center Association and the national park. The Karelian Research Centre RAS is a partner in this project.
Photos: Presidential Foundation for Nature Press Office, Konstantin Tirronen, Anna Kretova, Anastasia Pronina, Evgeny Khizhkin.