14.12.2015
Renovation measures to facilitate access to conservation areas
In November 2015, LIFE Eislek planned and executed a more unusual action for a nature conservation agency. Considering that the project works primarily on wetlands, some areas are quickly turned into mud pools. These include the inlets to wet grasslands, that are regularly mown, as these are most frequently passed by heavy machinery to export the grass clippings from the core area. However, to ensure an agreeable working climate for our partner CNDS, who often has to work under very difficult conditions, we decided to reinforce the inlets on our most important sites.
A botanically very interesting site is situated near Hosingen at “Sauerwisen”. This site is the last remnant of the violet copper’s distribution on the Our. It is also home to many orchid species, cotton grass, marsh clover and many more interesting species. To keep the site in its current state it needs to be mown regularly. A ditch is situated parallel to the path, turning the inlet into a mud pool most of the year.
We installed two pipes to evacuate the water and allow the tractor to access the site. The soil was excavated to a depth of about 20cm, covered with a fleece and reinforced with gravel.
The second site is another site entertained by CNDS Naturaarbechten, a partner in the LIFE Eislek project and situated near Heinerscheid “Déifeburen”. The access path had to be fixed at three different spots to allow a safe and clean work.
The lowest part of the path is most influenced by heavy rain and was reinforced with gravel. At the inlet to the site, the soil was excavated, covered with fleece and gravel.
A small stream traverses the parcel and the old bridge was no longer passable.
Instead we build a ford using cyclopes.
