In Jachenau it is almost something of a tradition - and this year it was cultivated again.
Around 50 people from Jachenau came back to Letten for the “Leitenheuen” in the summer.
Jachenau
- For those involved, the strenuous work on a steep slope is always a shared experience.
Above all, the campaign is an invaluable contribution to nature conservation.
Only in this way can the high ecological value of the area and the ecological diversity on it be preserved.
"It is definitely exhausting, because you know what you have been doing in the evening," says Jachenau fire brigade commander Andreas Demmel.
Nevertheless, he sees the annual work assignment as a beautiful custom - meanwhile the area is already called "fire brigade management".
"The campaign promotes cohesion, it is a nice togetherness, we are a mixed bunch of young and old," says Demmel.
Fire brigade members are there as well as other Jachenau citizens who volunteer for the sake of a good cause.
Above all, nature benefits
According to Demmel, the deployment is spread over two days: Once, three to four volunteers are out and about on foot with motor mowers on the slope. Two days later, the large group of helpers took part in the calculation. “It takes two and a half to three hours to finish everything.” At the end there was a barbecue to thank everyone.
Above all, however, nature benefits from the active commitment of the volunteers. According to Sabine Kraus, nature conservation specialist at the Lower Nature Conservation Authority in the Tölzer District Office, the slope at Letten at the entrance to the Jachenau valley is "one of the largest and most valuable semi-arid grasslands in the district". "After the agricultural meadow hay was given up and no farmer could be found to cultivate the steep slope, the slope lay fallow for a while," she looks back. In 2008, the Jachenau volunteer fire brigade - at that time under commandant Anton Gerg - agreed for the first time to take care of the "extremely valuable, species-rich grassland". "Since then, maintenance has been carried out once a year in the summer."
Sabine Kraus also explains why this is so important.
"The Hangleiten is the habitat of numerous endangered animal and plant species," says the nature conservation specialist.
Ten different types of orchid alone are proven here.
In 2013 there was the environmental award for the commitment
As an example, Sabine Kraus cites the Herbst-Drehwurz (Siranthes spiralis).
“This is a small type of orchid that is specifically dependent on summer use.” Because it only sprouts after mowing and then blooms at the end of August / beginning of September.
"If the slope were mowed too late and the orchids were mowed regularly, or if their use were completely abandoned and the dainty plants were shaded by the denser vegetation, their population would soon disappear," says Kraus.
“If maintenance were permanently abandoned, the slope would also become bushy over the years and eventually become forested.
It would then be lost as a habitat for numerous rare species in the open country. "
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Working on the steep “fire brigade line”: around 50 volunteers help out with the ranks at Letten.
© Demmel
With the continuation of the traditional summer meadow hay use in the form of annual mowing and the breaking down of the cuttings from the area, the Jachenau fire brigade, with its numerous, hard-working helpers, is making a significant contribution to the preservation of the biodiversity of this area.
The district honored this “commitment to“ preserving the biodiversity of our cultural landscape ”in 2013 with the award of its environmental award.
In addition, the Free State supports the campaign financially.
According to Sabine Kraus, it is recorded as a “minor measure” in the Landscape Management and Nature Park Program (LNPR).
Legally, the area is officially subject to the Bavarian Nature Conservation Act "due to the high-quality vegetation in terms of nature conservation", and it is also located in the FFH area "Jachenau and Extensivwiesen bei Fleck".
"The financial grant helps us to purchase equipment we need at short notice," says fire department commander Demmel.
So all sides benefit from “Leitenheuen”.
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