The Rappenalptal in the south of Oberstdorf is an idyll. Below, the Rappenalpbach gurgles through its gravel bed, to the left and right well-known peaks tower up, above all the striking Biberkopf, but also the Rappenseekopf, the Rotgrundspitze, the Schafalpenkopf and the Angererkopf, each well over 2000 meters high. The end of the valley is formed by the Haldenwanger Eck, it is the southernmost point in Germany. In summer, not only alpine people and their cattle populate the Rappenalptal. But sometimes also countless day trippers, hikers and mountain bikers. Popular hiking destinations are the Fiderepasshütte, the Mindelheimer Hütte, the Enzianhütte and the Rappenseehütte. Ambitious mountain bikers like to use the Rappenalptal as a starting point for a Transalp. The people of the Allgäu are very proud of the Rappenalp valley. In the BR media library you can watch a 45-minute documentary about the idyll.
But now the Rappenalptal has suffered serious damage. Some even say it was destroyed. In the past few weeks, the wide bed of the Rappenalpbach has been filled with gravel and straightened for a good 1.6 kilometers. The previously freely meandering mountain stream has been squeezed into a narrow bed like a canal, and the gravel banks have been leveled. Apparently, the action was commissioned by the cooperative of alpine farmers who farm the area. The section is in the upper part of the valley near the Black Hut, which is a popular stop in the summer months. The stream itself has largely dried up. Apparently its sole was broken through during the work, so that its water seeps away.
It is currently not possible to explain why the alpine cooperative committed the crime. Its chairman, a hotel operator from the region, could not be reached for comment. The action itself was patently illegal. According to the Oberallgäu district office, which has to approve such river construction projects, it did not know anything about the massive measure. The Oberallgäu district administrator Indra Baier-Müller (independent) has since confirmed several times that the work would never have been approved. That is why the water management authorities and the government of Swabia are also dealing with the case. And in the Ministry of the Environment in Munich, they shake their heads. Some even expect that the outrage will end up before the European Commission.
The Rappenalpbach was a valuable biotope
Because the illegal intervention weighs very heavily. The Rappenalptal is strictly protected – according to German and European nature conservation law. It is located in the nature reserve “Allgäuer Hochalpen”, whose 30th anniversary was recently celebrated, and is part of the extensive European protection area of the same name. The Rappenalpbach itself is also classified as a biotope under the Federal Nature Conservation Act. Because numerous rare grasshoppers such as the red-winged snaring insect lived in it and on its banks, but also special butterflies such as the Idas blue and the common sandpiper and other bird species threatened with extinction. Alfred Karle-Fendt from the Bund Naturschutz (BN) in the Oberallgäu, who has known the area for more than 30 years, also says that in all the years of his commitment he has never experienced a comparable wild intervention in a nature reserve.
They are therefore already examining a criminal complaint against the Alpine cooperative at the BN. At the same time, the organization demands that the authorities must absolutely prevent further work in the area. Topping up humus, for example, to increase the grazing areas in the valley floor would further aggravate the damage to biodiversity in the area. In addition, the BN calls for extensive reports and the restoration of the original course of the stream, even if this would take decades and it is doubtful whether it can succeed.