Junior World Ski Championships hand in hand with nature protection

Land usage? Clearings? Endangerment of wildlife? In the run-up to the 2010 FIS Nordic Junior World Ski Championships in Hinterzarten, questions of nature and landscape protection played an important role in the planning of the cross-country ski trails.

For the urgently necessary modernization of the shooting range, nature protection aspects were also key. By creating a model of the anticipated interventions in the landscape, it become clear that modernizing the existing location would be more advantageous than building a new facility: A new shooting range would have used up too much natural space. Since the competition site is located inside a bird sanctuary, an ornithologist was engaged to record the existing bird populations early on in the planning stage. It turned out that particularly the capercaillie and the ring ouzel required special protection from disturbances. These rare and sensitive birds mate and breed in spring and summer – precisely during the period that was planned for the necessary construction and modernization required for the event. Construction was therefore postponed until after the breeding period. Thanks to rigorous planning, the overall modernization measures were completed in time despite the postponement.

The planning process for the modernization measures of the German Ski Association was aided by the expert support of the Foundation for Safety in Ski Sports (SIS) around technical and content-related issues and was finally implemented.

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