Update Federal Forest Act: Relief: The MTB community can breathe a sigh of relief!

The German Mountain Bike Initiative e.V. (DIMB) has good news for its members: Germany's forests can still be used for mountain biking. This, at least, is the result of a new draft bill to modernise the Federal Forest Act (BWaldG).

Last year's draft, which would have significantly restricted mountain biking in Germany's forests, caused a stir in the MTB community at the time. As a result, the DIMB took the initiative and fought against the proposed changes. "Our arguments, which we put forward together with the "Bike.Nature.Movement" and other associations, were obviously heard and implemented by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture," says DIMB expert Heiko Mittelstädt, assessing the development.

New draft of the Federal Forest Act: the most important messages

Mittelstädt informs on behalf of the DIMB about the initial findings on the new draft, which had been made public by various sources. According to the DIMB, there will be no changes to the wording of Section 14. This means that cycling is still permitted on all roads and paths in the forest. "The restrictions envisaged in the first draft to define which paths are suitable for cycling using various criteria are no longer included. The federal states will also no longer be able to restrict cycling to specially designated routes across the board and without justification. This means that two of the contents we were particularly critical of are no longer included," explains Mittelstädt. Another success: tracking routes by forest visitors should no longer be punishable as an administrative offence in future. This had been feared after the first draft just over a year ago.

>> 7 things you probably didn't know about the German forest

>> Where can you spend the night in nature?

>> Expensive: The cost of biking on prohibited routes

The DIMB expressly welcomes the fact that the new draft emphasises the equal status of forest functions - forestry, nature conservation and recreation. This confirms that measures to improve the recreational function remain a central objective of the Federal Forest Act. However, there could still be discussions when it comes to the question of what specific wording is still to be found in the explanatory memorandum. "We are waiting for the official hearing of the associations and will take action again if necessary," Mittelstädt announces.

Restrictions and the role of the DIMB in the future

One thing is clear: the new Federal Forest Act does not yet exist. What the final version will look like is therefore still completely open - but the new draft gives us hope that there is no threat of blanket bans. The draft also does not contain a directive to standardise the federal state regulations on cycling. This remains an important issue that the DIMB will continue to focus on in the future. "We will continue to advocate for the interests of mountain bikers at state level in the future," assures Mittelstädt.