After the outrage in nature in the Oberallgäu Rappenalptal, the risk of flooding for those down below has been averted again. In the past few days, the Oberallgäu district office has had the dams opened in several places that had been raised during the illegal straightening and channeling of the Rappenalpbach. As a result, flooding in the mountain stream can flow back into the adjacent meadows and pastures instead of endangering residents in the lower reaches. In addition, the stream bed was surveyed with the help of drones in order to document the extent of the damage in the unique nature reserve.
According to experts, the straightening and channeling of the Rappenalpbach is one of the worst crimes against nature in Bavaria in recent years. The mountain valley in the south of Oberstdorf is a popular destination and has maximum protection under German and European law. It was a valuable habitat for rare insects such as the walking cricket, but also special bird species such as the common sandpiper. In autumn, the alpine farmers, who graze their cattle on the meadows there over the summer, had the Rapppenalpbach completely dug over a length of 1.6 kilometers. According to the district office, the work was not approved and would never have been eligible for approval.
The authorities admitted, however, that after a flood in the summer they talked to the alpine farmers about minor river engineering measures. That is why speculations are circulating in the Allgäu about an alleged toleration of the outrage by the district authority or an accomplice. The district office firmly denied the allegations. The authority has now received a first confirmation. The Augsburg Administrative Court rejected an urgent application by the Alp farmers against the restoration of the flood protection. The judges expressly affirmed that the work was neither authorized nor capable of being authorized. The alpine farmers have to pay the costs for the renovation of the flood protection.