Near the Franconian nature reserve of Schambachried (Weissenburg-Gunzenhausen district), improper drainage measures have caused damage to an ecologically valuable bog. The lower nature conservation authority in the district stopped the drainage work near the city of Treuchtlingen and initiated countermeasures, the authority announced on Thursday. The Bund Naturschutz (BN) stated that a complaint had been filed under the Environmental Damage Act.
The city of Treuchtlingen was the client for the dredging work. The excavator driver partially deepened the ditches right next to signs that provided information about the nature reserve. Such behavior is incomprehensible, the BN said.
Low moors like the one in Schambachried are not only important habitats for numerous animal and plant species, but also important carbon dioxide reservoirs in the fight against climate change.
According to the district office, dredging work on near-natural streams and ditches was carried out immediately adjacent to the Schambachried nature reserve and the Schambachried flora and fauna habitat (FFH). “The nature conservation examination showed that the measures have a draining effect and thus lead to the destruction of ecologically valuable biotope areas, to a significant impairment of the FFH area Schambachried as a valuable wet biotope complex and to a massive intervention in the fen,” says the District notice. The authority ordered the dredging work to be stopped immediately and the dredged areas to be sealed with earth. However, it was determined that more work was needed to repair the damage.
According to the BN, ditches overgrown with typical wet vegetation had been dredged and deepened and large willow trees with rootstocks had been uprooted. The groundwater level in the bog had already dropped by around 20 centimetres.