‘Forest rangers see more nuisance in nature areas due to growing crowds’

Many forest rangers and green boas believe that problems arise due to the growing number of recreationists in nature reserves. This is evident from a survey of the TV program The Monitor (KRO-NCRV) among 158 boas and forest rangers. Three quarters think that the increased pressure of recreation has adverse effects on nature and almost half think that “tourism in nature is getting out of hand”.

“If I had not cleaned up anything in the past month, the Veluwe would simply have become a gang or a pigsty,” says Lennard Jasper, forester in the North Veluwe, against the program. He saw that, in particular, groups that came together in the nature reserves left a lot of junk around. “But structurally more waste was also left behind along walking and cycling paths.”

According to almost all boas and forest rangers (98 percent) of Staatsbosbeheer, De Landschappen and Natuurmonumenten, it is clearly busier in nature reserves this year than in previous years. 83 percent think that the extra busyness leads to nuisance such as waste, illegal parties in a quiet area, short fuses for recreationists and the burning of open fires in vulnerable nature.

Iron wire over mountain bike route

Of those surveyed, 94 percent think that more public money should be made for enforcement in the nature reserves. In the past two years, half had to deal with dangerous actions between holidaymakers. In most cases, it involves resistance to mountain bike trails, their answers show.

For example, thumbtacks or glass shards are scattered on those paths to signal dissatisfaction with the routes. Pits are also dug or even iron wire stretched across the road.

The broadcast of ‘Who Owns Nature?’ from De Monitor will be broadcast on NPO2 tonight at 10.15 pm.

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