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Collecting firewood in the forest can quickly become a crime - an expert explains

2022-11-08T05:13:33.693Z


Collecting firewood in the forest can quickly become a crime - an expert explains Created: 2022-11-08 06:03 Harvested wood is sawn into small pieces for transport. Heinz Utschig, head of the Wasserburg forestry operation, keeps an eye on what is taken away. © Stefan Rossmann Firewood dealers in the district have been bought empty. But you can't just start collecting. Heinz Utschig shows where y


Collecting firewood in the forest can quickly become a crime - an expert explains

Created: 2022-11-08 06:03

Harvested wood is sawn into small pieces for transport.

Heinz Utschig, head of the Wasserburg forestry operation, keeps an eye on what is taken away.

© Stefan Rossmann

Firewood dealers in the district have been bought empty.

But you can't just start collecting.

Heinz Utschig shows where you can easily burn your fingers.

Ebersberg – Heinz Utschig, red scarf and bright orange jacket, squats down at the side of the path and picks a piece of wood covered with fungi and moss from the forest floor covered with autumn leaves.

It breaks between his hands with a wet crack.

"It's so rotten, it never burns.

Only smoke and fine dust come out.”

Heinz Utschig is the head of the Wasserburg state forest company and is therefore responsible for the Ebersberg forest.

There he is now, not far from the Diana forester's lodge, and is giving a lecture on collecting firewood in the undergrowth: what is allowed, what is not - and why the work might not be worth it at all.

Rules are in Bavarian reading wood regulations

Wood may only be picked up in the state forest.

Heinz Utschig shows the area on a map.

© Stefan Rossmann

Because what you can pick up and take with you in the state forest is of course precisely regulated.

The answer can be found in the Bavarian reading wood regulations.

According to this, only so-called harvested wood, i.e. wood that has fallen to the ground, dried out or rotted, may be collected.

This also includes bark and cones lying on the ground or wood and brushwood left behind by the forest owner.

Anything that is still grown, too thick or otherwise usable is taboo.

With a rapid movement of his hand, Utschig points to the remains of a treetop.

"Stay away from it." Because everything that shows traces of processing belongs to the forestry department.

And also “everything that we intentionally put on the road is not reading wood.

Taking it away would be theft,” explains Utschig.

Gathering is only permitted in state forest areas.

Harvested wood is sawn into small pieces for transport.

Heinz Utschig, head of the Wasserburg forestry operation, keeps an eye on what is taken away.

© Stefan Rossmann

And according to the reading regulation, there is much more to consider.

It is only allowed to collect in state forest areas.

Log harvesting is prohibited in private forests.

On an overview board, the forest manager points with a stretched finger to the areas of the state forest marked in dark green.

In addition, you can only take as much as you can carry yourself or pull behind you with a handcart.

Utschig shakes his head: "But it doesn't make any sense".

Lumber isn't even good firewood.

Far too moist, too rotten and far too low a calorific value.

He fishes a small branch off the ground and crumbles it between his fingers.

"You might be able to use it to heat up a soup, but not an apartment," he says.

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Regulation actually for “the poorest of the poor”

Because of the high level of moisture in the wood, the wood collected in the forest first has to dry for a few months before it can end up in the chimney.

Even with cones and bark, the forest manager does not see the added value: "Your chimney sweep will curse you." For private individuals, reading wood is therefore not the salvation in the energy crisis.

The regulation "was actually intended for the poorest of the poor," explains Utschig.

And also in terms of nature conservation, dead wood and small branches should stay where they are.

Because the thinner the wood, the more nutrients it contains.

This particularly benefits the forest floor and thus the ecosystem.

Wood collectors would only endanger the cycle of nature.

Enamel for firewood from the forest

So if you want high-quality firewood from the forest, you can contact the Wasserburg forestry company (e-mail: info-wasserburg@baysf.de).

From this, a forest area is assigned, where you can help yourself to firewood for a fee.

This has to be cut up small enough to fit the oven on site and then transported away.

A successful chainsaw course must be proven in order to be able to use the chainsaw.

Utschig hopes that the onslaught will be limited: "Woe we get 1000 calls, the forester freaks out," he says and laughs.

By Anna Liebelt

You can read more news from the Ebersberg region here.

By the way: everything from the region is also available in our regular Ebersberg newsletter. 

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2022-11-08

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