Wolves roam into Finnish villages after Google destroys 1,300 acres of forest for AI data centers

Google's Finland country manager has apologized for unauthorized forest clearings near Muhos, which have turned 816 acres of forest into an expanse of mud. The American search and AI giant has also been told to cease work where it has cleared roughly 500 acres of forest, 55 miles southeast of the village of Otanmaki. Now The Guardian reports that wolves, who used to live in the forests, are roaming into villages neighboring these man-made muddy wastelands.

Go deeper with TH Premium: AI and data centers

(Image credit: Microsoft)

• The data center cooling state of play
• The custom AI ASIC state of play
• America's AI chip rules keep changing - and the rest of the world is paying the price
• GTC 2026: Ian Buck press Q&A transcript - VP of Hyperscale and HPC speaks out on shelving CPX and shipping LPU decode this year
• Demand for data center CPUs has surged, and AI agents are responsible

Local anger continues to simmer over the damage done to Finnish forests, as Google seems to have ridden roughshod over regulations in the hurry to build new AI data centers in Finland. However, the report suggests that it isn't just environmentalists who have a beef with Google. Some families say wolves and other wild animals have entered the countryside villages. This would be a serious human safety concern.

We had wolves coming into the village because all the wild animals moved out of the forest," explained Anni Ranta, 53, whose family has lived in Otanmaki for generations. Ranta also fears the U.S.-owned data centers will make Finland an even juicier target for Russian aggression.

Finland is far from the first place targeted by AI data center developers to complain about environmental effects. This latest report also cites locals grumbling about construction/factory noise, streams turning brown, and rare birds being pushed out, among other unwanted side effects. We've seen similar concerns voiced across the U.S. and in other countries.

Google's flouting of environmental policy has been unprecedented and clear, a representative of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation (SLL) indicated to The Guardian. The Finnish Licensing and Supervision Authority (LVV) seems to agree, as it issued an order for Google to stop development near Muhos and Otanmaki. Nevertheless, a Google spokesperson was upbeat. We will fully comply with LVV's requests in this matter," they said. We look forward to maintaining an active, open dialogue with all authorities to strengthen our partnership with Finland and local organizations." Google must be hoping the touted business benefits of the data centers will sway the government and/or regulators.

We last reported on these in-development data centers in Finland earlier this month, after the Finnish government (LVV) gave notice to Google to stop its construction activities in Muhos and Kajaani (near Otanmaki).