At the turn of the year, the forestry structure reform that had been discussed in the press and in the municipalities for some time was implemented throughout Baden-Württemberg. As a result, the district office is no longer responsible for the management and care of state forest areas, i.e. forests owned by the state of Baden-Württemberg. In the district of Ludwigsburg, these include Favoritepark, Salonwald, Rotenackerwald and Bietigheimer Forst. The municipal forests in the district, on the other hand, will remain in the care of the district administration office according to the wishes of the towns and municipalities. Private forest owners will also receive advice and support from the district office if they so wish. At the same time, forest education will be given a much higher priority in the new forestry department.
Dr. Michael Nill took over from the previous head of the department, Gundula Gmelin, on 1 January 2020. As he was previously deputy head of the department for almost three years, he is already very familiar with the forests in the district. Nill originally comes from Mühlacker before moving to Freiburg for his studies and his first professional positions. After a long stint at the Ministry of Rural Areas, he joined the Ludwigsburg District Office in 2016. He is 40 years old and lives in Vaihingen/Enz with his wife and three children.
"The renaming of the Forestry Department as the Forestry Department was a major concern for us as part of the reform," says the new department head. "The forest in the district of Ludwigsburg has a variety of functions that are not adequately described by the term forestry. The old name also suggests a particular emphasis on the economic function of the forest, which is no longer the main focus of use in the communal forests in the district," continued department head Nill. "The triad of use, protection and recreation is very important here and we want to express this with the renaming."
