Photo Gallery Fighting over the Black Forest's Future
In the northern Black Forest, conservationists are facing off against local activists opposed to government plans for a national park. The forest is seen to represent the German soul, and the nation has an emotionally charged relationship with its woods.
The proposal to establish a national park in the northern Black Fores has met with virulent resistance from locals who seen the governing Green Party as bullies.
Friederike Schneider is studying forestry science, volunteering as a ranger in the protected forest and has successfully run for a seat on the Baiersbronn town council. "People are filled with an old fear that their forest will be taken away from them, by outsiders and people from the city with university degrees," says Friederike Schneider. "That's in their heads. You can't get to that."
The national park project is spearheaded by Alexander Bonde, the state of Baden-Württemberg's Minister of Rural Affairs and Consumer Protection.
"Is it smart to make forests off-limits to commercial exploitation if we need renewable resources?" asks Wolfgang Tzschupke, a retired forestry professor. "Biodiversity also exists in forests that are managed in ways that approximate nature."
Should the forest be left alone or used for commercial purposes? The issue is even dividing families.
The self-assurance of the Stuttgart planners makes Tzschupke suspicious. "Who knows if that many visitors will truly show up, once the bark beetle starts killing off large numbers of trees," he says.
When Alexander Bonde, the state of Baden-Württemberg's Minister of Rural Affairs and Consumer Protection, recently addressed the state parliament about the state park legislation, he talked about how much land would be returned to nature and of Black Forest creatures like the European redstart, shown here.
