According to the municipality of Borger-Odoorn, the felling of trees in the forest near Drouwenermond is part of necessary green maintenance. “This is necessary to develop a safe, healthy and varied forest that is attractive to animals and people,” a spokesperson said. During the work, overhanging branches and dead wood must be removed so that the walking paths along the fish pond remain passable.
According to the spokesperson, the fact that relatively many trees are dying in the forest near the fish pond is also because many ash trees have been affected by ash branch death. “The trees affected by this fungus die in a short time and can therefore create dangerous situations for recreationists.” Other trees must be cleared to create more light and space for the trees and shrubs that remain.
The municipality is aware that the location is used as a gay meeting place. “We have no specific policy for these types of locations. Our starting point is that safe and efficient use of the fishing water remains possible here, because the fishing lake has also been leased to the angling federation for a long time.”
The municipality does not wish to respond substantively to the complaint from the Keelbos Foundation at this time. “In principle, there is a statutory period of six weeks for the handling of this complaint. We do not think it is desirable to anticipate this now.”