The renaturation of the Rappenalpbach near Oberstdorf, which was largely destroyed by dredging work, is expected to take several years. This emerges from a response from Environment Minister Thorsten Faithr (free voters) to a state parliament request from the Greens.
Faithr had already announced in January that the restoration of the former course of the stream should begin in the spring after the snow has melted. Last year, an alpine cooperative straightened and deepened the strictly protected torrent in Rappenalptal over a length of 1.6 kilometers. This work was not permitted, as has since been confirmed by two administrative courts.
However, there is a dispute between the cooperative and the Oberallgäu district office about responsibility. Because the district authority had allowed certain work on the body of water. The letter from the ministry now lists the environmental consequences in more detail than previously known.
Accordingly, it can be assumed that protected Alpine salamanders were killed by the construction work. Furthermore, Glauber assumes that habitats of insects such as the critically endangered red-winged grasshopper have been impaired or completely destroyed. In addition, fish such as Koppe and brown trout would now be affected by deposits of fine sediment.
“We are shocked by the enormous extent of the damage,” Green MP Thomas Gehring said about the report. He demanded clarification from Glauber as to how the dredging work on the torrent could have happened. “No one can destroy valuable habitats with impunity,” added Rosi Steinberger (also a member of the Greens), Chairwoman of the Environment Committee in the Maximilianeum.