Forest maintenance work begins in the city's municipal forests

In addition to their protective and recreational functions, all of the city's forests also have a utilisation function: based on one year and one hectare of forest area (= 10,000 m²), the forests of the city of Chemnitz produce approx. 9.5 m³ of wood, and in accordance with the city council's decision, 5.5 m³ of this is utilised commercially; 4.0 m³ is used to further increase the living wood stock in the city's own forests.
Approximately 20 % of the trees are removed from the stands during thinning. These are weak trees or trees with wood defects, but also trees that are already ready for felling. The aim of the district forester is to increase the stability of the remaining trees against environmental influences, to influence the composition of the tree species and to favourably influence the further growth of the remaining trees. A total of approx. 6,000 m³ of raw wood will be harvested in the winter months and utilised for material or energy purposes. The purchase of the raw wood is contractually bound.

The forest maintenance work will be completed by the end of February 2013 at the latest. They will take place in the following forest areas: Zeisigwald, Ebersdorfer Wald, Schneller Markt, Glösaer Wald, Crimmitschauer Wald, Wald am Harthweg (Rottluff), Pfarrhübelwald and Harthauer Wald as well as in smaller forest areas belonging to the city of Chemnitz in the districts of Euba and Einsiedel.
Five biotopes will be affected by the forestry work - the agreement with the lower nature conservation authority was reached at the end of August. Due to the danger (a 30 metre high tree has a danger radius of at least 30 metres), "forest areas and forest paths are closed by law for the duration of the felling or processing of wood" (§ 11 (3) of the Forest Act for the Free State of Saxony). Citizens are urgently requested to observe and comply with this temporary ban on access.

The mechanically harvested raw wood is processed into various assortments and temporarily stored on forest roads accessible by lorry. This will inevitably also affect forest paths that are mainly used for recreation. These paths will be repaired after the temporarily stored raw timber assortments have been removed. The subsequent repair work is not only dependent on the 2013 municipal budget to be approved, but also on the weather and is not expected to be completed before July 2013.
The basis for the work to be carried out as planned in the winter half-year 2012/2013 is the city council resolution on the ten-year forest management plan for the years 2005 to 2014.

Firewood licences: As in previous years, citizens who are interested in the environmentally friendly fuel wood can once again purchase firewood permits from the district forester during office hours on Mondays from 4 to 6 p.m. in the office building at Annaberger Straße 89, room 63. The price for a cubic metre of firewood for self-collection was increased by approx. 6 % in 2010 and will also cost EUR 13.72 per cubic metre this year.
Firewood licences for the residual wood on the area are only sold when the raw wood ready for sale has been stacked on the forest road. The maximum quantity per licence is 5 m³ and it is valid for one week.
Note: In spring 2013, no firewood licences will be issued from the beginning of March until September 2013 due to the start of the breeding season for forest birds.

Contact for information and enquiries from the public: For further information and questions about current forestry work in the Chemnitz municipal forests, please contact the City of Chemnitz/ Green Spaces Office by email at gruenflaechenamt@stadt-chemnitz.de or call 0371 488-6755.