The OÖ Nachrichten was told that a decision had been made about the future management of the Kalkalpen National Park GmbH based in Molln (Kirchdorf district). Accordingly, the contract of managing director Volkhard Maier should not be extended. He took over the position from Erich Mayrhofer on January 1, 2018. The management position for Austria’s largest contiguous forest area was advertised at the end of July. The federal government and the state of Upper Austria each hold a 50 percent stake in the OÖ Kalkalpen National Park.
According to reports, there were nine other applicants in addition to Volkhard Maier. According to insiders Josef Forstinger, the new director in the national park should be January 1, 2023 at the earliest. The graduate engineer works in the nature conservation department of the state of Upper Austria, which formally supervises the National Park GmbH. Forstinger is acknowledged by many to be the right man at the right time.
As reported, the State Audit Office (LRH) passed a devastating verdict on the orientation and economic management of the national park last year. Although Maier contradicted the LRH criticism, it should have been clear to those responsible in politics by this point at the latest that a change of course was needed. Exactly this change should now have been completed with the selection of Forstinger and the non-extension of Maier.
Source: Nachrichten
