The upper reaches of the Ćehotina River finally receive protection.

With the decision to declare the "Rijeka Ćehotina" a protected area, which will be on the agenda of the Bijelo Polje Municipal Assembly session on Thursday, that part of the municipality will finally receive legal protection.

So far, the Đalovića Gorge has been declared a protected area in Bijelo Polje as a natural monument, and the upper reaches of the Ćehotina River will be the second protected area, after the Environmental Protection Agency conducted a study. The Bijelo Polje Municipality Agency for Natural Resources Management, which was established at the end of last year, is responsible for managing all protected areas in the territory of the Bijelo Polje municipality.

The idea of ​​protecting the upper reaches of the Ćehotina River in the territory of the municipality, from the river's source at the foot of Mount Stožer and downstream through the river canyon to the administrative border with the municipality of Pljevlja in the area of ​​the village of Bliškovo, as stated in the Study, is based on the protection of surface waters, the biodiversity of the river and the surrounding area, as well as the landscape of the river canyon and the surrounding area.

"The Ćehotina is the northernmost river in Montenegro, with a total length of about 125 kilometers, of which 95 kilometers belong to Montenegro. It is a right tributary of the Drina River in the town of Foča (BIH). It rises below the Stožer mountain at an altitude of 945 meters. The area is located in the municipality of Bijelo Polje, in the western part of the municipality on the border with the municipality of Pljevlja. It includes the source Glava Ćehotina and the upper course of 6,5 kilometers in the municipality of Bijelo Polje on part of the territory of the village of Bliškovo," the Study states.

In the immediate vicinity, in the village of Bliškovo, there are the dry caves of Dera, Gornja Dera, Sileva pećina, and the Ćehotina spring is located at the bottom of Mount Stožer, surrounded by katuns, once places for raising cattle herders in the summer, today with potential for the development of excursion tourism. On the very border of the protected area is the Bliškovo monastery. At a distance of 21 kilometers is the Zlateš monastery, and at 28 kilometers are the remains of the medieval Sokolac monastery. In the wider vicinity of the protected area there are also archaeological sites from the prehistoric period.

The area completes the overall protection of the upper reaches of the Ćehotina River, not only in the territory of the municipality of Bijelo Polje, but also in the territory of the municipality of Pljevlja, whose protection procedure is in the final phase. Otilovićko Lake was created 35 years ago for the needs of the Pljevlja Thermal Power Plant, but the water from the reservoir is also used for the city's water supply, which is all the more reason to protect the upper reaches of the Ćehotina River, which would also be a sanitary protection zone for the water intake.

"The greatest distinctive feature of the upper reaches of the Ćehotina, in addition to the meanders, is the source of the Ćehotina itself under the rock at the foot of Stožer. Other values ​​of this area are preserved biodiversity, cultural and historical monuments, authentic rural architecture, preserved forest complexes, the Ćehotina river itself, which is suitable for the development of sport fishing, as well as the hospitality of the rural population," the study states.

The total length of the protection belt, as planned, would be 40,06 hectares, and the total area of ​​the protection belt would be 528,62 hectares.

Prohibited activities under the Level II protection regime would be fishing for five years for the recovery of the brown trout population, aquaculture, installation or construction of facilities, change of land use, dispersal, capture, disturbance and killing of animal and plant species, settlement of non-native and invasive species, hunting, uncontrolled logging without a permit, undertaking work that could lead to damage to species and habitats, accidental or intentional disposal or discarding of any waste, damage to geological and geomorphological values, depletion of the natural fund of wild species and pollution or endangerment of the river.

It is prohibited to construct facilities that pollute groundwater and surface water with their wastewater or whose purification system efficiency is below legally prescribed standards and quality parameters, construct facilities and carry out operations, activities and businesses that discharge wastewater without treatment into the underground (septic tanks and wells), and construct sawmills.