Regretting Reforestation: Discourses of Landscape and Culture Change in Mountain‐Farming Norway

ABSTRACT The rural district of Valdres in central Norway is home to one of the largest intact transhumant farming zones in Europe. The low‐mountain stølslandskap , or “summer mountain farming landscape,” a singular, sub‐polar socionature, is undergoing significant economic and environmental transition. As transhumant farming decreases and anthropogenic climate change progresses, the culturally treasured stølslandskap is becoming reforested and effectively disappearing. In a local reversal of global environmentalist logic, Valdres residents see this forest regeneration as a highly regrettable loss. Many believe forest regrowth is a cultural problem that should be staved off with increased, but deliberately small‐scale, human and agricultural activity to restore the stølslandskap to its traditional state. Drawing on long‐term ethnographic research among transhumant farmers in Valdres, we highlight the need to attend to local interpretations of ecologies and landscapes to develop viable environmental policies and stewardship strategies.