Energy crisis: Collecting wood as a savings trick - what is allowed and what is not
Created: 11/24/2022, 09:45 am
By: Tobias Gehre
Wood may only be picked up in the state forest.
But there are strict requirements there too.
© imago
Energy is expensive.
Many people are looking for alternatives to oil and gas.
One of them is even free.
You just have to pick them up in the forest.
But for the so-called reading wood, there are precise rules.
Anyone who ignores them quickly becomes a thief.
District – Heat from the forest was long considered obsolete.
In the past few decades, coal, gas and oil have been the means of choice to avoid freezing in winter.
But now fossil fuels are suddenly unexpectedly expensive.
And wood is experiencing a true renaissance.
This gives a rather outdated regulation new meaning.
The so-called reading wood regulations regulate what you can and cannot take out of the forest.
More questions
Since the price explosion on the energy market, this question seems to be on more and more people's minds.
"We're getting more and more inquiries about this," says Stefan Warsönke, who is responsible for the forest in the district at the Office for Food, Agriculture and Forestry (AELF).
(
By the way: everything from the region is now also available in our regular
FFB newsletter.)
Simply marching into the nearest forest and stocking up on fuel there is not a good idea.
Because the permission to collect wood in the forest is faced with many restrictions.
Probably the most important: harvesting wood is only permitted in the state forest.
Privately owned areas as well as community or church forests are taboo.
"It would be wise to inquire with the state forests beforehand," says Stefan Warsönke.
Otherwise you could quickly end up in the private forest - and so unintentionally become a thief.
In the state forest
But even in the state forest, not everything can be taken with you.
Harvesting wood is wood that has fallen to the ground, is dry or rotten and is not intended for sale.
What forest workers leave behind during felling work can also be taken away.
Ideally, you should have a tape measure with you.
Because the branches must not be thicker than ten centimeters.
Incidentally, machines are taboo.
Neither the chainsaw may be used, nor a motorized vehicle for transport.
If you stick to the guidelines, you can find what you are looking for in the district, especially west of Fürstenfeldbruck.
From there to the district of Landsberg there is a particularly large number of state forests, explains Stefan Warsönke.
There are also forests owned by the Free State around the Jexhof and near Althegnenberg.
According to the forest expert, there are around 3000 hectares.
In total, about 9500 hectares of the county are covered by forest.
Large part in private hands
The largest part of the forest in the district is therefore in private hands.
But there is also a way to get wood legally.
The Fürstenfeldbruck Forest Owners' Association (WBV) offers two-meter-long pieces to be picked up in the forest - for a fee, of course.
However, stove owners have to bring these to the desired size themselves - and then dry the wood.
Demand has increased, reports Paul Högenauer, Managing Director of WBV.
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And as always when something is in great demand, thieves are not far away.
Högenauer reports on a forest owner near Germering who cut trunks into manageable pieces in the forest – and then went on vacation.
When he came back the wood was gone.
You can find more current news from the district of Fürstenfeldbruck at Merkur.de/Fürstenfeldbruck.