The beaver conflict issue has lost some of its explosiveness in the district.
Much fewer complaints arise earlier.
Curious: three county beavers are now making rodent careers in England - possibly even in the vicinity of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The district office now receives significantly fewer complaints about beaver damage than before.
Three beavers from the county were exported to England - possibly even to Prime Minister Boris Johnson's father.
In 2020, 41 beavers were removed from the district, 39 of which were killed.
District
- The Bavarian beavers are practically deployed abroad.
The British are betting on them, they have imported them for an important task.
In Exmoor in the south-west of England, they should use their talent as landscapers to counteract the negative consequences of climate change.
During this mission, they are in contact with the highest political circles: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave his father Stanley a group of rodents for his 80th birthday - and according to Daniëlle Sijbranda, the district's beaver commissioner, it is entirely "possible" that Among them are three beavers from Werdenfelser and Blauer Land: in 2019 an animal from Mühlhagen started the journey to the island, in 2020 one each from Garmisch-Partenkirchen and one from Eschenlohe.
The strictly protected beavers fell into traps, but, unlike the majority of captive conspecifics, got away with their lives.
"The animals that are given to zoos or exported are not even a drop in the ocean," says Gerhard Schwab, beaver manager for southern Bavaria at the Nature Conservation Association.
Beavers in the county: In 2020, 41 beavers were "removed" - two of them were exported to England
This is reflected in the numbers in the district: in 2020, 41 beavers were "removed", 39 of which were killed directly or after being caught: mainly in the area of the hydropower plant near Mühlhagen and in Seehausen (Staffelsee-Südufer) as well as in the Ammertal - most of them in Saulgrub near the bypass.
But the great emotional explosiveness that the topic had years ago - especially around the Staffelsee, where the waves hit high - when those affected ran storms against the beaver and the damage caused (we reported), seems to have subsided.
"The district office receives far fewer complaints about the beaver," explains Stephan Scharf, spokesman for the authorities.
Several factors are conceivable as the cause: there is actually less damage, beaver management with prevention, compensation and removal works well, and perception, tolerance and understanding have changed.
Scharf assumes that there is an interplay: "All three points probably apply." However, it is not entirely clear why the "certainly only gradual decrease in the population could change the situation so significantly".
Beavers spread throughout the county - almost reached saturation in the north
The beaver has long since spread across the entire district.
Sijbranda sees the occurrence in the north as "almost saturated" in view of the high density.
The Biber Commissioner, who works closely with the District Office, in which her work is valued, “will shift a bit” into the southern half: “Because of her short-term response times and her specialist knowledge, she also meets with overwhelming approval from those affected”, explains Scharf.
And: Sijbranda has a good overview.
According to her, most of the economic damage occurs on forest areas in Uffing and Schöffau an der Ach.
For this, a compensation flow from the beaver fund.
"Beaver removals have not been approved in these natural areas."
Beaver damage: Forest owner advocates sensible population regulation along the Ach
Regina Schuster's family belongs to the group of affected forest owners who are struggling with damage.
"On the upper Ach there is a continuous beaver population from the Staffelsee to Bayersoien," says Schuster, who is responsible for agriculture in the Uffing municipal council.
Their verdict: It is "very, very difficult" that mixed forests have a chance in this area.
In the shoemaker's forest there is “no more large beech trees” along the river Ach.
The councilor found the situation in 2020 to be particularly bad. Now, she says, there is not so much left that the beaver could destroy.
She asks: How many animals like this can the Ah tolerate?
Wouldn't a sensible inventory regulation make sense to increase acceptance?
Schuster is by no means a tough opponent of the beaver;
she even finds some of the animal “fascinating”.
Problems with the beaver: Eschenlohe a "prime example of prevention"
In Eschenlohe the cow - or rather: the beaver - is apparently off the ice: “The problems are almost zero,” says Mayor Anton Kölbl.
The recipe: "You have to take tried and tested measures and be behind." Above all, he relies on dismay, ensures that beaver families cannot settle down comfortably - with electric pasture fences in important drainage trenches to the left and right of the A95, among other things also keeps free.
Massive problems had arisen in the past.
In the large, flat areas around Eschenlohe and Ohlstadt, according to Scharf, beaver dams ensured that entire areas were flooded.
Kölbl remembers affected soils, "riddled with holes like Swiss cheese".
The asphalt sank along the streets, cows broke in several times, and a bulldog was once hit.
In a strictly demarcated area of the Eschenlohe land consolidation area, beavers may also be removed without restriction.
But this is almost no longer the case, says Kölbl.
With pasture fences against rodents - a textbook approach.
Sijbranda praises the situation: “What has been done is a prime example of prevention.” Such actions also contribute to easing the situation - like Sijbranda's work.
She knows: "It makes a big difference when someone is there who takes the matter seriously and comes in with problems." Compromises can often be found so that the strictly protected animals and humans find an acceptable coexistence.
But Sijbranda does not manage to square the circle: "In this situation, I cannot always make everyone 100 percent happy."
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Controversial landscape architect: More than 50 beavers killed in the district