Teterinskoye Forest and Hunting Range (now Teterinskoye SFI) was created on the basis of Kruchanskoye and Shepelevichskoye forest sections of the Belynichi forestry establishment and Teterino small enterprise in 1997 in pursuance of the Order of the President of the Republic of Belarus dated June 12, 1997 No. 169 РП On Creation of Forest and Hunting Ranges and by virtue of the Order No. 36 dated 23.06.1997 of the Property Management Directorate under the President of the Republic of Belarus. In accordance with the Order No. 67 dated 15.03.2001 of the Property Management Directorate under the President of the Republic of Belarus, Teterinskoye Forest and Hunting Range was renamed as state forestry institution.
Teterinskoye SFI is located in the north-western part of Mogilev Region in the territory of Kruglyansky Administrative District in the village of Shepelevichi. Main activities of the institution: hunting tourism, timber logging, and wood processing. Teterinskoye SFI forest area is 20,226.3 hectares divided into two forest sections: Shepelevichskoye and Kruchanskoye. The main objective of forest management is to organize multi-purpose, scientifically-based, continuous and rational use of forests to solve specific tasks facing the institution, as well as to meet the demand of the economy in timber, other forest products and natural useful properties of the forest under the mandatory condition of preserving and strengthening the environment-forming, water-protective, protective, sanitary-hygienic, and health-improving functions of the forest.
The local reserve was formed by decision of the Kruglyanski District Executive Committee dated February 24, 2009 No. 2-51 on the declaration of the Shchitok wetland as a hydrological reserve of local importance. Shchitok local hydrological reserve with an area of 2,850 hectares (2,847 hectares of Teterinskoye SFI land and 3 hectares of the Kruchanski Rural Executive Committee) is located between the Berezina and Drut rivers and plays an important role in the formation of the hydrological regime of the adjacent territories. The following is prohibited on the territory of Shchitok local hydrological reserve:
- land reclamation, as well as works related to changes in the natural landscape and the existing hydrological regime;
- damage and destruction of trees and shrubs, disturbance of natural soil cover, except for contours located on agricultural land, as well as when it is related to forestry activities;
- clearing of riparian and aquatic vegetation;
- burning of dry vegetation (forest fire), and fire clearing of cutting areas;
- land plowing within a 100m wide strip along the rivers’ shoreline;
- aerial treatment of agricultural and forest lands with pesticides;
- parking vehicles on the territory and roads of the reserve, except for company vehicles;
- setting up tourist camps, making fires in places not intended for these purposes, driving motor vehicles off the roads, except for vehicles performing agricultural and forestry work;
- grazing and haying during the breeding period of birds and animals (April-June) in the shoreline strips of rivers;
- cutting principal use forest;
- spring and drive hunting;
- extraction of peat and sapropel, and other mineral resources;
- water withdrawal from rivers for economic purposes, in quantities that lead to changes in the condition of watercourses;
- wastewater and industrial waste discharge;
- waste burial.
There is also a natural monument of local significance – the Khotomle lake, which was formed by decision of the Kruglyanski District Executive Committee dated October 28, 2003 No. 10-56 in accordance with the Law of the Republic of Belarus dated May 23, 2000 No. 396-3 On Specially Protected Natural Reservations. According to the above decision, the Khotomle lake with an area of 1.2 hectares was declared a natural monument of local significance. The above decision was amended by decision of the Kruglyanski District Executive Committee No. 4-68 dated April 25, 2007. According to the amended decision, the Khotomle lake natural monument of local significance was included in Teterinskoye SFI with an area of 8.4 hectares.
