After this letter, there is a need for discussion in the Kalkalpen National Park: In March, the owners of the alp in Kampachtal wrote to the National Park GmbH that the alp was no longer part of the park. Buildings belonging to the park, such as viewing platforms and adventure stations, should therefore be removed. Guided national park tours should also no longer be offered on the site. In total, there are more than 130 hectares that the national park could lose.
Volkhard Maier, director of the park, confirms receipt of the letter. Since then, however, there have been “negotiations with the owners”. He assumes that the alp will continue to be part of the park in the future. This would require a so-called usage contract, which the national park would have to conclude with the landowners. Until a few years ago, there was such a contract for the Alpe. However, it was canceled by previous owners just prior to sale.
The Greens are now making the possible loss of area of the national park an issue in the state parliament and made a request to the deputy governor Manfred Haimbuchner (FP), who is responsible for nature conservation. “We want to know what the country has done to secure the future of the national park,” says Greens mandatar Rudi Hemetsberger.
Haimbuchner’s office confirms that there are currently negotiations with the owners of the alp to “consensually ensure the preservation of ecologically valuable areas as part of the national park.”
Hemetsberger fears that the possible loss of the alp could “set a precedent” and the national park could shrink even further if other landowners also terminated their usage contracts. (hip)
Source: Nachrichten
