The area of the Reserve is 12,280 hectares, it is one of the 15 smallest reserves in Russia. The territory of the Bryansk Forest makes up three tenths of a percent of the area of the entire territory of the Bryansk region and about one and a half percent of the area of forests in the region. In 2001, the reserve was awarded the status of a biosphere reserve under the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere program. In the language of science, this means that the territory of the Bryansk Forest is intended for finding ways and developing models of balanced interaction between man and nature. The black stork became the symbol of the reserve. This rare bird is listed in the Red Books of Russia and the Bryansk region and a number of other states. Cutting down old forests is destructive for the black stork – it deprives it of its only possible habitat in our area. Preserved forests also preserve this amazing bird.