Winter is a crucial time for future generations to be able to live from and with the forest.
It is the forest maintenance phase.
The forest owners' association (WBV) Wolfratshausen mainly takes care of forest maintenance in winter
WBV boss Hans Killer has his hands full, especially in the cold season
Forest maintenance is primarily about sustainability
Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen
- there stands forester Robert Nörr in the forest of Altkirchen in the municipality of Sauerlach and makes a statement.
“That's what I admire about forest owners,” he says.
“Thinking in generations.” He turns and points to the spruce trees behind him.
"A car manager would cut down radically here, make short-term profit and be praised by his shareholders," he says.
The forest owners do it differently, they think long-term.
Your magic word: sustainability.
It is no coincidence that the term comes from forestry.
Seven tons of spruce trunk
Winter is a crucial time for future generations to be able to live from and with the forest.
It is the forest maintenance phase.
Hans Killer, head of the Wolfratshausen forest owners' association, says: “In winter I have by far the most work.” From the end of October at the latest, he will start working on the 66 hectares that he owns, the large, old trees - to fell.
For example, this spruce trunk on the side of the road, 20 meters long, 67 centimeters in diameter, weighing about seven tons.
The inscription "WOR" indicates that it is being sold through the Wolfratshausen Forest Owners Association, all other digits are used for identification.
For example, when the sawmill has questions.
Hans Killer liked it a few days ago.
The development of this tree is typical.
The spruce is around 140 years old, and both Hans Killer's father and grandfather kept an eye on him - keyword sustainability.
Now the chairman of the forest owners' association is benefiting from it, just as his sons and grandchildren will one day benefit from their current work.
“I invest a lot of time in looking after my young forests,” says Killer.
“But it is also a lot of fun to use a mature tree.” Now the moment has come when the work of generations literally pays off for him.
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Hans Killer is head of the Wolfratshausen forest owners' association.
© Kohnke
The price that can be achieved with the thick wood is “not so bad,” says Killer.
Actually, the prices are quite in the basement, the large amount of damaged wood from all over Germany spoils the market.
But with such a massive specimen you can still make a profit.
Whereby it is important to find a sawmill in the vicinity that can handle these dimensions.
For most in the local area, the end is too thick.
That's why it's going to a sawmill near Landsberg am Lech in the next few days.
“Supporting the local sawmills is a matter of course for us,” says Killer.
Bark beetle damage is limited
Forest maintenance in general.
This year it is more important than seldom before.
“The past few years have been a series of catastrophes with beetle damage, snow breaks and storm events,” says Robert Nörr.
Therefore, forest owners always had to do in hot spots, the remaining areas were left to their own devices.
Actually, there is a rule that you should thwart about every five to eight years and remove 70 to 80 cubic meters of wood per hectare.
“But a lot of them can't do that,” says Nörr.
The result: the trees take each other's light, the forest becomes unstable.
"And with that you get a problem in the long run." This year, in which the forest owners were spared to some extent - even the bark beetle damage was limited - the right time would have come.
That's what I admire about forest owners.
This thinking in generations.
Robert Nörr, district forester in Wolfratshausen
In the forest you tend to look up, your gaze wanders almost automatically to the crowns.
But it's also interesting below.
The green in which we stand is a prime example of natural rejuvenation.
That means: The trees do not have to be planted, they now grow back by themselves, thanks to permanent care they have enough light.
In winter there are many days when Hans Killer roams through his forest and frees the still rare firs from the overwhelming force of the spruce and beech trees.
Or after logging, simply align the tips of the young trees that have got caught in the branches of a felled tree so that they can stretch unhindered in the next few days, weeks, years and decades.
"That is important," says Hans Killer.
Every move is a move for the future.
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