Forest damage and looming steel plant closures form the backdrop as the Siegen-Wittgenstein district council votes on Friday whether to establish North Rhine-Westphalia’s second national park on the Rothaarkamm ridge, junge Welt reported.
Karl Eschtruth, managing director of the Schutzgemeinschaft Deutscher Wald in Siegen-Wittgenstein, pointed to regional economic stress when questioned about the timing.
“Die Menschen in unserer Region haben wirklich anderes zu tun,” Eschtruth told junge Welt, citing the closure of Siegen steelworks and the fight of the last 800 employees for their jobs.
Eschtruth, who worked as a forester for 33 years, argued that the district faces severe bark beetle infestations and timber losses since 2018.
Germany requires up to 130 million solid cubic meters of wood annually while producing less than half domestically, leading to imports from primary forests in Romania and Russia, according to the forestry association.
“Wir brauchen jeden Stamm,” Eschtruth told junge Welt regarding the necessity of maintaining active regional forestry.
A central argument from opponents centers on monitoring areas left untouched after Kyrill caused widespread storm damage in 2007.
Eschtruth said that unmanaged test plots developed into closed spruce stands, demonstrating the aggressive growth dynamics of spruce over other tree species.
“Die Fichte wird das Kommando übernehmen,” Eschtruth told junge Welt, warning that leaving the forest entirely to nature would eventually require costly clearance work funded by taxpayers.
SPD District Administrator Andreas Müller supports the national park project, projecting improvements in climate resilience, rural development, and sustainable tourism.
Eschtruth contended that Wittgenstein differs fundamentally from the Eifel region, noting that Wittgenstein has sustained heavy industry since the mid-19th century.
“Die Eifel galt lange als preußisch Sibirien,” Eschtruth told junge Welt, contrasting the sparsely populated Eifel prior to its park designation with the industrial profile of Siegen-Wittgenstein.
