There will be no research from the municipality of De Wolden into storks in the Reestdal. The municipality was curious about the influence of the bird on biodiversity, but scribbles back because the status of the area does not seem to change.
The largest population of storks in Drenthe lives in the area around the River Reest on the Drents-Overijssel border. That is why the Reestdal was in the picture as an important Bird Area (IBA), an area that is important for a certain bird species. The municipality feared that it was the prelude to a new Natura 2000 area. The municipality does not want an extra protected nature area around the Reest.
Although the Ministry had already indicated that there would be no Natura 2000 area, it was agreed on the advantage of municipal interests in the lecture program to investigate the influence of storks. With a ‘extensive and extensive’ research, the college (GB, PvdA, D66) wanted to demonstrate that the stork in the Reestdal needs no protection. In fact, De Wolden wanted to demonstrate that the ‘situation is more reversed’ and that ‘the biodiversity in the Reestdal may have to be protected against the stork’.
In conversations with various parties, the municipality received the desired confirmation: “No more IBA for the stork and no more risk of being designated as a Natura 2000 site.” The main reason for initiating an investigation was that.
But the desire for an investigation was formulated wider. “We want to know the possible influence of these birds and other animals on biodiversity in the area,” says the lecture program. The municipality now says that it should have been “perhaps more clearly expressed.”
“The other animal species were not specified, so that all animal species fell under this plan,” the spokesperson said. “That made such a research particularly extensive, too extensive for a municipality, and very complicated to implement.”
The storks in the Reestdal not only kept local politics in recent years. It was also discussed in the Provincial States. A year and a half ago, the BBB wondered whether the protection of meadow birds and young hare was canceled out by the presence of storks.
According to the Provincial Executive, there are no indications that the stork has a major influence on the meadow birds. “The stork eats especially easily to find prey, such as worms, snails and insects. Larger prey, such as chicks of meadow birds or young hares, his occasional quies, depending on the area. As far as is known, the stork does not hunt for this.”