The people of the Allgäu affectionately call their alpine salamander miners. The salamander, which is black on the upper side, likes to stay in the middle to higher altitudes of the Alps, even above the tree line, so it really deserves the nickname. The alpine salamander is a fascinating animal, it is viviparous and has a gestation period of at least two years, probably the longest of any vertebrate. The animals also really like the tar on the roller track of the Oberstdorf Sports Club, where cross-country skiers train in summer. Apparently, the underground warms up nicely when it was damp.
However, the fact that the Alpine salamander likes to laze around on the scooter route has made the athletes despair. In wet weather in the summer months, there was already a ban on training until 9 a.m. to avoid running over an animal. Now, however, the higher nature conservation authority of the Swabian government has significantly expanded protection, more than a third of the training route is affected, without a time limit.
Ironically, emphasizes the sports director, a very important section because of the elevation profile and some inclines. There are 120 cross-country skiing children out there every day, as well as top athletes. If the lap is partially blocked and thus shortened, training will be tight. You can imagine it as if the pros at FC Augsburg came to the training ground in the morning and were then only allowed to train in the penalty area together with youth players – the rest of the soccer field is cordoned off, mole alert.
There has already been a bang in the municipal council, reports that Allgäu indicator sheet. Some councils are angry because no more events can be planned and also because they accuse the local nature conservation association of simply pushing the new, strict regulation through the higher nature conservation authority – without talking beforehand. So far, says the sports director, the trainers and employees have been out and about before the start of training to remove salamanders by hand. Instead of a complete closure, he would rather educate the groups of children to handle the alpine salamander with care. Talks are now planned – for an amicable solution that could take effect next summer.