INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES

The Wild Heart of Europe

BY TILL MEYER, HANS KIENER, and ZDENKA KRENOVA

ccording to Wallace Stegner, American novelist Most other species of wildlife—mostly animals that do and historian, the outstanding value of wilderness not depend on large home ranges—were not impeded by Alies in the “visceral satisfaction of knowing that the human-made terrestrial obstructions. They flourished planet retains a strong, wild soul.” In central Europe this because the Cold War’s demarcation line had created a safe metaphor finds an equivalent in the motto the “Wild haven from human disturbances by leaving breeding sites Heart of Europe.” This slogan was recently coined for a undisturbed for some species for decades, such as the black newly designated wilderness area, located on the border of stork (Ciconia nigra), European otter (Lutra lutra), corn- two nations and shared by two national parks in the crake (Crex crex), and capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus). Bohemian Forest: the Bavarian Forest National Park in In December 2007, the Schengen Treaty of the Germany and the Šumava National Park in the Czech European Union (EU) came into effect, allowing free travel Republic (see figure 1). across European borders. In anticipation of the demands For millennia this medium-altitude mountain range from local communities and tourism (see International has been characterized by the same ecosystems, the same Journal of Wilderness, August 2008), the directors of the habitats, and the same array of species. Then came the Šumava (see figure 2) and the Bavarian Forest National Cold War and with it the Iron Curtain, which divided up Parks came to together on March 13, 2008, to prepare Europe for 45 years (1945–1990). It severed the personal joint management guidelines for a core area of about and cultural lives of millions of people and also brought an 15,000 hectares (37,050 acres). Recently, this cooperation end to east-west migrations of some of its wildlife, particu- between the two national parks peaked, as a mutual system larly large carnivores and herbivores such as lynx (Lynx of wilderness trails finally was agreed upon and officially lynx) and red deer (Cervus elaphus). marked for public use on July 14, 2009.

Till Meyer Hans Kiener Zdenka Krenova

DECEMBER 2009 • VOLUME 15, NUMBER 3 International Journal of Wilderness 33 Figure 1—Map of the Bavarian Forest National Park in Germany and the Šumava National Park in the Czech Republic.

The creation of the new trans- more, even if it was in the name of a summed up the cultural challenges boundary wilderness between Germany good cause such as conservation. of wilderness conservation in and the Czech Republic is more than a Therefore, the designated wilder- Germany. considerable conservation achievement, ness area in the Bohemian Forest has • In January 2009, the congress since it also coincides with the 20th lately become quite a political battle- “The Appropriateness of Non- anniversary of the end of the Cold War field of competing interests. The Intervention Management For and gives this wilderness designation a mutually agreed upon German-Czech Protected Areas” in the Czech vil- special connotation. The challenge is trail markings on July 14 now mark lage of Srni provided many not only to open nature for nature, but the détente between the different examples of the successful propa- also to allow “natural forces and pro- interest groups. The area is now seen as gation of natural processes in cesses to predominate” (as phrased by a special opportunity zone for the different protected area situations the International Union for the Czech Republic and Germany to dem- in central Europe. Conservation of Nature [IUCN] onstrate mutual responsibility for • In May 2008, in Prague, the (Dudley 2008, p. 14)) for the Protected appropriate management of wilderness Czech capital, the conference Area Category 1b, Wilderness). At the in Europe. called “Wilderness and Large same time wild nature needed to be The year 2009 saw plenty of Natural Habitat Areas in Europe” made accessible for people, who opportunities to encourage the discus- was held by the European should—according to the Protected sions about what is meant by Commission and the Czech Area Category 1b—have the opportu- appropriate management of wilderness Republic during its EU presi- nity to experience such areas. This in Europe. The frequency of relevant dency. This convention came up objective makes many conservationists events that took place in only 12 with concrete recommendations cringe, because the area in question months was remarkable: for the accommodation of wilder- holds populations of some of the rarest • The seminar “Wilderness as a ness in the systems of nature and most endangered species in central Cultural Task” (December 2008), protection in Europe. Europe. At the same time, local politics which took place in the Bavarian • In October 2009, the Bavarian and business vowed that they would City of Freising—a hundred miles Academy for Nature Conservation not tolerate rigid patronization any- west of the Bohemian Forest— and Landscape Preservation hosted

34 International Journal of Wilderness DECEMBER 2009 • VOLUME 15, NUMBER 3 a national conference, with a focus it gradually turned wilderness into This process found an early wit- on “Wilderness and Sustainable cultural landscapes. More often than ness in Aldo Leopold, one of the Use in the Bavarian Forest not, this cultivation created biodiver- North American pioneers of wilder- National Park.” sity rather than destroying it. Many ness protection. At the end of his species of wildlife, such as the roe deer three-month study trip to Europe in Cultural Landscapes (Capreolus capreolus), European hare 1935 he observed that: Wilderness did All of this invites skepticism. To some (Lepus europaeus), pheasant (Phasanius not only vanish from the continent’s the mere idea of wilderness in central colchius sp.), grey partridge (Perdix surface but also from humans’ minds Europe might seem a bit of a far- perdix), and quail (Coturnix coturnix), and experiences. And we can add: for fetched misnomer or a blatant owe their wide distribution in central hundreds of years. It was mostly due to exaggeration. Indeed, the face of cen- Europe through the mid-20th century the long and gradual process of culti- tral Europe’s landscape had been to the human-made opening in the vating wildlands that the idea of shaped by civilization much longer tree canopy for clearings created for wilderness had largely vanished from than on some other continents. Ever small-scale farming. Then, as industri- central European consciousness— since the Neolithic age our ancestors alization, land use, and timber famine much earlier and probably more have carved their livelihoods out of progressed, the relationship of central thoroughly than to the average their natural surroundings. Unlike in European people toward nature American mind. Americans adored North America, this process took a changed. More often than not, cultiva- frontier heroes such as Daniel Boone, long time—several thousand years—as tion of land turned into exploitation. and even found pleasure in readings

Figure 2—Šumava National Park. Photo by Till Meyer.

DECEMBER 2009 • VOLUME 15, NUMBER 3 International Journal of Wilderness 35 authors such as John Muir, Henry and gave rise to a rich variety of litera- mighty powers and dynamics of the David Thoreau, and Aldo Leopold. ture by authors such as Karel Moldau River as it springs from the Central Europeans during the same Klostermann, Josef Váchal, Adalbert Šumava hills and becomes a wild river period had no stake in true wilderness Stifter, and Alfred Kubin. It was men and finally a mighty stream. These simply because they had no place of such as these who helped central strong melodies could not have been reference upon which to build a cul- Europe retain a wilderness heritage of created in a disenchanted world of tural relationship toward wildlands. its own. well-tended commercial forests and regulated rivers. The challenge is not only to open nature Changes in Forest for nature, but also to allow natural forces and Vegetation processes to predominate. In June 2008, the authors were joined by The WILD Foundation board members Charlotte Baron and Vance But there were exceptions: a few It was not only men who defended Martin for hikes through the regions in central Europe have the Urwald of the homeland. One Bohemian Forest. Locations such as remained where climatic and geo- outstanding representative of literate Höllbachspreng (Hells-Creek-Gorge) morphologic conditions would always wilderness affinity for this area was provided enchanted forest scenery with limit land use. One of these places— Emerenz Meier, a female author and babbling waterfalls accompanied by the most extensive outside the Alps poet: “I grew up as a child of the free gnarled trees, mossy rocks, and lush and the Carpathians—is the forest. Wild animals were my friends fern coves. Other scenes stopped some- Bohemian Forest, lately also termed … and as I embraced the bosom of what short of being a fairytale idyll: the Greater Bohemian Forest the earth, I swore that I would never large groups of dead and dying trees— Ecosystem by some. It encompasses ever tolerate the shackles of a master bereft of all foliage and most of the an area of roughly 5,000 sq km … I am the free child of the free bark—provided ghastly imagery at (1,930 sq. mi.), and this landscape forest!” Like many of her contempo- first sight. The remains of the trees belongs to three nations: Germany, raries during the 19th and early 20th were still standing with their shiny Austria, and the Czech Republic. centuries, Emerenz Meier later immi- naked trunks reflecting the morning Even though some farming commu- grated to the United States. The quote sun. Other trees were laying topsy- nities and small industries (mainly above identifies Emerenz Meier as a turvy on the ground in various stages glass-making) have subsisted in the true child of her times. The 19th and of decay. As some of bark that still area, claiming their share of logging early 20th centuries were to a great remained could easily be peeled from and grazing, much of the terrain was degree marked by repression and the trunks, it showed the telltale tracks too rough for wholesale exploitation. social and political unrest. Also, of the Spruce bark beetle (Ips typogra- In the beginning of the 20th century, during the same period, the fascina- phus). Evidently the beetle attacks had modern forestry took bigger areas tion with nature and landscape rose occurred quite a while ago, because the and intensively logged parts of the distinctly. Often the longing for regeneration had set quite well with area, thereby changing the composi- freedom and wild nature were many sizable sapling trees growing on tion of tree species to predominantly expressed in one breathe. It is quite the decaying trunks (see figure 3). Not spruce (Picea abies). plausible that the early fascination only were young spruce and an occa- However, quite a few patches of with wilderness in North America sional silver fir (Abies alba) encountered, old-growth forest, peat bogs, and old during the 19th century had some of but also European beech (Fagus syl- meadows survived. Thanks to its roots in the central Europe. vatica) mountain maple (Acer sp.), and landowning aristocrats such as Earl Perhaps one of the best-known mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia). In August Buqouy and Prince Johann pieces of art to come from this region addition, dense thickets of blackberry Adolf II zu Schwarzenberg a few tracts is the brilliant composition “Vltava” (Rubus fruticosus), carpets of bilberry of virgin forest (Urwald) were set aside (“The Moldau”) by the Czech com- (Vaccinium myrtillus), and clusters of in 1838 and in 1858 respectively. poser Bedřich (Friedrich) Smetana. fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium) These places always found admirers This symphonic poem describes the created a rich understory.

36 International Journal of Wilderness DECEMBER 2009 • VOLUME 15, NUMBER 3 Figure 3—Dead trees and regeneration in the Bavarian Forest. Photo by Till Meyer.

If one looked at a map showing spond to the specific latitude for the Habitats Directive, feature Lynx (Lynx the potential natural vegetation map forests of the European North. lynx), European otter (Lutra lutra), of Europe—provided by the Federal On a smaller scale—provided by and numerous bat species, notably Agency of Nature Conservation the EU Habitats Directive (European barbastelle (Barbastella barbastellus) (Weber and Illmann 2008)—one can Union 1992) and Natura 2000 (Kiener and Bechstein’s bat (Myotis bechsteinii). easily make out the Bohemian Forest and Hußlein 2007)—we can distin- The birds in the area, which are pro- as a speck of bluish-green inter- guish two dozen different habitat types tected by the bird directive, include spersed with tiny dots of purple-blue. covering quite a wide spectrum, impressive species such as the black These colors stand for mountain ranging from natural dystrophic lakes, stork (Ciconia nigra), capercaillie coniferous and mixed forest. to ponds, bogs, grasslands, and heath, (Tetrao urogallus), hazel grouse (Bonasa Curiously this combination of colors to beech-maple and spruce-fir forests bonasia), black woodpecker (Dryocopus also occurs at the rim of the boreal as well as bog woodlands (see figure 4). martius), three-toed woodpecker forest in Scandinavia and Russia As these different habitats interlace, (Picoides tridactylus), and peregrine around the 60th latitude. This phe- they form one of the most threatened falcon (Falco peregrinus). nomenon is due to the fact that the mixed mountain systems worldwide, However, because the EU Habitats altitude of the Bohemian Forest (up according to a 2008 biodiversity assess- Directive (European Union 1992) to 1,453 m/4,827 ft. above sea level) ment (Weber and Illmann 2008). aims to promote biodiversity by provides a cool to temperate climate The mammals of the area, which assuring the long-term survival of the and plant compositions that corre- are protected according to the EU EU’s most valuable and threatened

DECEMBER 2009 • VOLUME 15, NUMBER 3 International Journal of Wilderness 37 Figure 4. Restored high moor where the iron curtain was removed between Bavaria and the Czech Republic. Photo by Till Meyer.

species and habitats, it differs some- for Biodiversity. The German govern- old-growth forest patches and sec- what from the intentions of wilderness! ment explicitly informed their ondary habitats it can indeed happen Remember that wilderness, according lawmakers (Gov. print 16/7082): “In that rare plant and animal species to the IUCN 1b, is not about pro- Germany there will again be wilder- disappear once regeneration takes tecting certain species. In fact it is 1b ness areas (e.g. in National Parks) with over. Larger forests and primary habi- that most explicitly of all IUCN cate- natural and undisturbed processes of tats, however, where so called gories (Dudley 2008, p. 14) aims “to development” and “Nature should non-intervention management is protect the long-term ecological integ- develop according to her own laws on practiced for a long period will meet rity of natural areas … where natural at least two percent of Germany’s terri- the demands of the EU Habitats forces and processes predominate.” tory by 2020.” Directive and often harbor more bio- (see figure 5) Critics of this mandate to protect diversity over time. Jörg Müller In this context it is important to processes claim that it often contra- (2009), zoologist in the Bavarian note that in preparation for the 9th dicts the EU Habitats Directive, as Forest National Park writes, “Natural Meeting of the “Conference of the natural succession will eventually put forests … are characteristically Parties to the Convention on Biological an end to certain preferred habitats of dynamic and heterogeneous as a result Diversity” (held in Bonn, Germany, the rare species. The solution to this of natural disturbance regimes, sup- May 19–30, 2009) many European perceived contradiction lies in the plying an abundance of structures countries passed a National Strategy scale applied. On small and isolated which enhance biodiversity.”

38 International Journal of Wilderness DECEMBER 2009 • VOLUME 15, NUMBER 3 The pressure on biodiversity in forests dominated by spruce (naturally or planted) is shown in events such as the outbreak of spruce bark beetle. As these tiny insects occur in large masses, they are able to kill even healthy trees and open up the forest to a cascade of different organisms. The bark beetle is then followed (in no particular order of appearance) by invertebrates such as common beetles, moths, and ants. Also fungi, slime molds, lichens, and mosses take over and render a mosaic of structures, which in turn provide nesting cavities and a food base for bats and birds. It is important to note that decaying timber makes up a prime fertilization substrate for tree regenera- tion that in general is more efficient than artificial propagation in commer- cial forests. As these correlations became obvious during recent years of research, the focus was extended to biodiversity and climatic change. It soon became clear that naturally occurring moun- tain forests, which were submitted to the benign neglect of non-intervention management for a long period, could likely provide some valuable solutions for commercial sustainable forestry in a time of change.

Non-Intervention Management Against much protest, the Bavarian Forest National Park (founded in 1970) was the first national park in

central Europe that allowed “natural Figure 5. Dark, peat enriched waters flowing through a naturally-occurring meadow, high in Sumava National forces and processes to predominate” Park. Photo by Vance Martin. on a greater scale. The true test for non-intervention management came park susceptible to infestations of Bavarian Forest National Park, and the in August 1983, when—within a few bark beetles, a storm public of protest backing of the Bavarian minister of minutes—a hurricane took down most broke loose. food, agriculture and forestry, Dr. of the spruce trees on 175 hectares Despite these protests, which Hans Eisenmann, more subsequent (432 acres) of the Bavarian Forest mostly came from small, local NGOs, storm calamities in forests received the National Park. When it was decided to the decision was upheld steadfastly. benign neglect of non-intervention leave most of the timber salvage in the Thanks to the courage of Hans management. The original idea was, in forest, thus making the national Bibelriether, the first director of the the words of Hans Eisenmann (1983),

DECEMBER 2009 • VOLUME 15, NUMBER 3 International Journal of Wilderness 39 history, it is our hope that the rela- It is our hope that the relationship between tionship between Germany and the Germany and the Czech Republic finds Czech Republic finds some light but solid footing in a mutually developed some light but solid footing in a concept of wilderness. mutually developed concept of wilderness. References “to create a primeval forest for our the Schengen Treaty in December Dudley, N. (Editor). 2008. Guidelines for Applying Protected Area Management children and children’s children.” 2007, when the area suddenly became Categories. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. Nobody at that time could foresee threatened by uncontrolled trans- Eisenmann, Hans. 1983. Minister for the dimensions of first great rewilding boundary tourism. And there are yet Agriculture decision not to remove any trees damaged or snapped by storms experiment in central Europe. It took more mutual challenges. One is the from within the Bavarian Forest almost 25 years for Šumava National management of large herbivores and National Park. (unpublished document) European Union. 1992. Habitats Directive. Park to follow the non-intervention carnivores. Through radio and satel- COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 92/43/EEC of 21 policy of its Bavarian neighbor. When lite tracking of red deer and lynx in May 1992 on the conservation of nat- one takes into consideration the fact particular, it became clear that these ural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p. 7) pp 66–67. that Šumava National Park was animals did not care about national Kiener, H., and Hußlein, M. (Editors) 2007. founded 20 years after the Bavarian borders, let alone national park bor- Natura 2000: Europas Wildes Herz. Grafenau: Germany, Bavarian Forest Forest National Park, it becomes clear ders. Lynx for instance could cover National Park Authority. that allowing “natural forces and pro- home ranges of more then 30,000 Kratzer, Hans. 2008. Book Review, cesses to predominate” in national hectares (74,100 acres). Here the con- Süddeutsche Zeitung, Nov. 10, 2008, quoting from Hans Göttler, “… des parks is not a decision that is taken cept of the Greater Bohemian Forest freien Waldes freies Kind, Ein Emerenz- lightly. For many more years it was Ecosystem suggests itself as a matrix Meier-Lesebuch”. Grafenau: Morsak Verlag. standard practice on Šumava sites to for the formidable task of rewilding a Müller, J. 2009. Passive Management and fight bark beetles by cutting infected cultural landscape. Natural Dynamics—Allow Recovery of trees. Then, after the hurricane Kyrill Before taking this bigger picture Saproxylic Beetles in a Former Commerical Forest. Europe´s Wild hit Šumava National Park in January into consideration, it must first be Heart, Conference Report. January 2007, knocking down about 2,000 demonstrated that mutual manage- 2009, Srni: Czech Republic. Weber, H., and Illmann J. (Editors). 2008. hectares (4,940 acres) of forest, the ment in the newly dedicated Federal Agency of Nature Conservation: long-time discussion nationally and Czech-Bavarian wilderness area is Nature Data 2008, 858pp. bilaterally about appropriate manage- working successfully. The Wild Heart TILL MEYER is a journalist and filmmaker ment of forests escalated. . As it turned of Europe is a very important area for with a focus on wildlife management and out, the forest, which was hit hardest, research, public education, commu- conservation; email: [email protected]. was grouped around those clearings, nication, and recreation. To prepare which were created by cutting bark- the area for the many different needs, HANS KIENER is head of the department of beetle infested trees. a Wilderness Research and Training Conservation of the Bavarian Forest The tough lesson hit home. Center will be established in the vil- National Park; email: Hans.Kiener@npv-bw. bayern.de. During the month following hurri- lage of Kvilda, only a stone’s throw cane Kyrill, the cooperation between away from the spring of the Moldau ZDENKA KRENOVA, Ph.D., heads the the two parks improved markedly as River and located in a former military Department of Research and Nature mutual management guidelines for base, where militancy and war anxiety Protection of Šumava National Park; email: the Wild Heart of Europe were devel- once was bred. As this place still [email protected]. oped. This process was accelerated by breathes heavily with culture and

40 International Journal of Wilderness DECEMBER 2009 • VOLUME 15, NUMBER 3