The Råneälven is Sweden's largest forest river, 21 kilometers long and stretches through 4 municipalities. The source lake for the Råne river is Råneträsk, at the foot of Dundret. The river has several tributaries, of which Rörån/Livasälven, which flows into Överstbyträsket, is the largest.
The character of the river valley is divided into two different landscape types - the forest country and the agricultural area. The river valley has been used by people for their survival since time immemorial, which the traces in the landscape whisper about. A living forest reindeer husbandry, forestry, today's outdoors-oriented hunting, fishing and berry picking.
Until 1965, the Råneälven was used for floating timber . Traces and remains of this can be seen in various places along the river. It was good for timber transport but a devastating effect on the fish species and biodiversity in the waterways. A large part of our fisheries conservation projects and measures aim to restore the biotopes in the river and its tributaries to their original appearance and function.
The Råneälven has also been the target of other nature-destroying exploitation - during the 1970s and 1980s there was a very lively debate about hydropower expansion of the river. Fortunately, the debate ended with the Råneälven being protected in 1987 through the established Natural Resources Act, which has since been incorporated into the Environmental Code.
It has also been the subject of final storage of nuclear fuel from the nuclear power plants, but that debate never received a wider hearing in the river valley and was dropped relatively quickly.