Trees could soon be felled in Miesbach because of the Asian longhorn beetle. The administrative court rejected the district's urgent requests.
Miesbach - The reasoning leaves no doubt: Because an EU regulation clearly stipulates that 16 types of wood must be felled within 100 meters of trees infested by the Asian longhorn beetle (ALB), the State Research Center for Agriculture (LfL) has no scope. She must also order those cases by general decree in Miesbach. Without exception.
This is the verdict of the Munich Administrative Court on the urgent requests by the Miesbach district against the precipitation. As reported, the district office considers the LfL's approach to be disproportionate. It is enough to cut down the five most common types of host, the so-called Big Five. The removal of the remaining eleven varieties "is not necessary to exterminate the ALB," said the tree expert of the district office, Martina Lewald-Bruderi, of our newspaper at the end of January.
The district office had therefore sued the Free State of Bavaria. The problem with this: The lawsuit has no suspensive effect. The LfL could therefore have started the precipitation regardless of the procedure. Even if one day the district got it right, the Miesbacher trees might already be gone. Therefore the urgent requests: As long as they were not finally treated, no tree could be felled in Miesbach because of the ALB.
The administrative court has now rejected the urgent requests. The ALB prefers the Big Five, the statement continues. If these do not exist in his environment, he will switch to other varieties. Removing all 16 types of wood as possible ALB habitats is "understandable."
The Volksfest is safe: the official storage area for removed trees is on the Volksfestwiese. Mayor Ingrid Pongratz said, however, that the festival and the operation of the marquee would not be affected: “We spoke to landlord Anian Kurz and found that we only have to set up the tent a little differently. Then it works. "
© Thomas Plettenberg
What is the district office doing now?
The district office can lodge an appeal against the judgment within the next two weeks. As spokesman Birger Nemitz reports, the authority has decided against it. However, she wants to pursue the lawsuit further and should it be rejected, an “appeal” to the Bavarian Administrative Court should be “carefully considered”.
What do the Miesbach managers say?
Miesbach's Mayor Ingrid Pongratz (CSU) sees the judgment pragmatically: "It is about pest control and averting damage to the city and forest owners." You have to approach this objectively and choose the most effective methods. Third Mayor and Tree Officer Michael Lechner is "really disappointed" with the verdict. But he had already noticed at the last meetings that the city had to expect this "brutal harshness".
When do the precipitation begin?
The cases can only start when the district's opposition period against the judgment has expired, says LfL spokeswoman Elke Zahner-Meike. The authority can therefore issue the first notices of foreclosure in two weeks.
Once that is done, things can happen quickly. The announcement of the precipitation has been completed, says Pongratz. The contracted company stands "rifle by foot" and can start working as soon as the legal questions have been clarified.
Can Waitzinger Park be saved?
Pongratz continues to hope for the exemptions that the city has applied for for Waitzinger Park. These are independent of the judgment. The LfL decides whether to accept the exceptions. If she did, she would save around 30 trees from the saws in Waitzinger Park. As the LfL decides, the felling notices reveal - in two weeks at the earliest.
Also read: Waitzinger Park and Riviera in danger: Asian longhorn beetle is advancing