Due to the possible fall of trees, tourists are not allowed in the part of the Boubín Forest

From Thursday, tourists are not allowed on some routes in the Boubín Forest in Šumava, because there is a risk of dry trees falling on the roads. The entry ban applies until further notice. The land is in a non-intervention zone, where it must not be felled. The spontaneous decay of dry trees can take up to ten years. The trees withered after the bark beetle calamity, which was at its peak in the Boubín Forest in 2019. Representatives of the Forests of the Czech Republic told reporters on Thursday.

According to the latest monitoring, there are four hundred dead trees. At the request of Lesy ČR, which is the administrator of the territory, the Vimperk municipal authority issued a ban. Restrictions on movement are likely to last until the trees fall spontaneously. “We will wait until it appears to us that the number of dangerous lands has decreased so much that the risk for tourists is no longer high,” said Miloš Juha, director of the Boubín Lesů ČR Forest Plant. He added that the spontaneous decay of dry trees can take up to ten years.

Felling in the core part of the forest, which would be offered as a faster solution, is not allowed due to the importance of the site. “It is the last remnant of primeval forests in the Czech Republic and one of the last remnants in Central Europe,” said Silvie Havlátková, Deputy Director of the Šumava National Park.

The closure concerns the blue and green tourist route towards Boubín Lake and its surroundings. According to Lesy ČR, it is not possible to predict when the land in the core of the forest will overturn or break. “The closure of the routes is unpleasant for visitors. However, we must respect the opinion related to the protection of the area and the non-intervention regime, which excludes felling of land,” said Juha.

“It is a great pity, because the Boubín Forest regularly attracts a large number of tourists. During the season, hundreds of them pass through here every day.

The fall of a tree in the Boubín Forest has claimed one victim in the past. In 2004, the lands fell on the central path of Boubín. She hit a woman who was holding the hand of a little daughter. Nothing happened to the child, but the woman’s pierced branch pierced her chest and she died.

The non-intervention area on the territory of the Šumava Boubín Forest reserve in the Prachatice region has expanded by approximately 55 hectares since 2020. It reached an area of ​​139 hectares. The Šumava National Park decided on this, which wants to keep a larger area of ​​forest for spontaneous development. Boubín Forest is the third oldest nature reserve in the Czech Republic. It was declared in 1858. The Boubín forest consists of a combination of beech, spruce and fir and is the best-preserved remnant of the original extensive Šumava mixed mountain forests.