Rohrenfels in the beaver dispute: Mayor announces radical decision!

Rohrenfels in the beaver dispute: Mayor announces radical decision!

Things are boiling in Rohrenfels: The dispute between the community and the Neuburg-Schrobenhausen district office over the role of the beaver advisor is increasingly escalating. At a current local council meeting, Mayor Manuela Heckl reported on the refusal to confirm Helmut Kriegl (CSU) as an officially recognized beaver advisor. The reason for this refusal is a cancellation of further training that Kriegl was unable to attend due to illness. This not only means a loss for local nature conservation work, but also a reclaim of 2,700 euros in compensation already paid by the Lower Nature Conservation Authority.

Kriegl, who feels he has been treated unfairly in this situation, emphasizes that he has never given a binding signature and is therefore not considered to have the authority to make decisions. In an initial reaction, Mayor Heckl announced that the municipality of Rohrenfels would no longer report a new beaver commissioner to the district office. As a sign of appreciation for Kriegl's work, she presented him with a beer mug. This happened amid a disagreement that has its origins in the removal of a beaver during the closed season. These conflicts highlight the challenges facing the beaver advisor in the region.

The role of beaver advisors

Beaver advisors play a crucial role in the ecosystem and are responsible for maintaining the beaver population and minimizing economic damage. According to the Bavarian Ministry of the Environment, there has been a real return of the beaver in Bavaria in recent years after it was eradicated in the 19th century. Extensive resettlement measures took place in the 1960s and 1980s. Today Bavaria has over 22,000 beavers in around 6,000 territories, and the animals are now widespread across the country. The Bavarian Ministry of the Environment implemented beaver management more than a decade ago in order to both protect the beaver population and effectively counteract the economic damage caused by it.

Conflicts and solutions

Lower-level conservation authorities responsible for management face the challenge of finding less conflictual solutions when beavers cause damage to agricultural land or forests. This also includes the possibility of removing beavers if common solutions are not effective or unreasonable. In addition to the 400 volunteer and professionally trained beaver advisors, two beaver managers are deployed to provide support.

The topic of beavers is particularly sensitive and is discussed intensively, not least because the European beaver is particularly protected by the Habitats Directive and is not subject to hunting law. As part of these protection efforts, almost 2,000 beavers were legally taken in 2019 and 2020, which underlines the explosiveness of the issue.

It remains exciting to see how the situation in Rohrenfels will develop further. The community is determined not to engage further with the Lower Nature Conservation Authority, while at the same time the need for harmonious coexistence between humans and animals remains.

For further information about the beaver in Bavaria, please also visit the Blog about Bavaria's wildlife.