SUSTAINABILITY

FEATURES
Plant Detachment under Range
Control to suppor t the maintenance
of range infrastruc ture.
The succeeding decades saw the
ongoing development of the training
area as it adapted to new weapons
systems during the Cold War. This
coincided with an increasing public
awareness of environmental issues,
with Germany in the vanguard,
including greater scrutiny of land and
its management. It was recognised
that information on nature in the
Senne was rather sparse in comparison
with other areas due to restrictions on
access to a military site.
1984 saw the foundation of the
Environmental Working Group –
Nature and Military in the Senne
Training Area. Its mission was to
conserve the variety of habitats and
protect the rich diversity of wildlife
and rare species that live in the Senne.
The initiative sparked the ongoing
era of close co-operation between
environmentalists, the British Forces,
local and federal authorities that
allowed for a systematic mapping of
habitats and wildlife, which had not
been previously achieved. All types
of fauna and flora were examined,
along with the monitoring of heath,
grassland, woods and streams.
Practical conservation measures
to assist endangered species were
also implemented, such as erecting
nestboxes and fenced enclosures for
rare plants, such as the pasque flower.
In 1987, a flock of rare-breed sheep
were introduced to the area by the
Senne Biological Station to undertake
conservation grazing as a more
traditional and aesthetic compliment
to the main effort of preserving
heathland by the tractors and
machinery of the LMT.
In the early 1990s, the Haustenbeck
Tower, which stands out proudly above
the forests as an icon of the Senne, was
listed by the local authority, along with
an old ruined church, that is testament
to former communities which were
removed when the training area was
Senne flock on the training area © Dr Gerhard Lakmann
enlarged in the 1930s. In the following
few years, over 60 prehistoric tumuli
that had been identified on the Senne
and neighbouring Stapel Training
Area were also listed as protected and
ancient monuments.
The European Union Habitats
Directive created the ecological
network known as Natura 2000
designed to conserve threatened and
endangered species of birds, other
animals, plants and habitats. As the
majority of the Senne Training Area is
designated a Fauna, Flora and Habitat
site, which is equivalent in Germany to
a Site of Special Scientific Interest, this
lead to the requirement for a Natura
2000 Area Specific Arrangement. The
Haustenbeck Tower © Dr Gerd Lakemann
agreement was produced and jointly
signed in May 2009 between the
State of North Rhine Westphalia, the
Federal Republic of Germany and was
acknowledged by the British Forces
in Germany. The responsibility for
implementing Natura 2000 on the
Senne falls to the Federal Forestry
Department, who formed a working
group, which again includes the British
Forces, other German authorities
and local ecologists. In this case, an
environmental contractor has also
been employed to undertake nature
and habitat mapping with the aim of
producing a comprehensive Natura
2000 management plan for the Senne,
based within the context of ongoing
military use.
The Senne Training Area remains a fine
countryside of woods, grassland and
heather, teeming with deer and other
wildlife that has been preserved largely
as a result of its use as a working,
military environment. The British Forces
are planning to leave Germany by
2020, which means some uncertainty
about the future of the area that will
have to be decided by the German
authorities and local people. However,
we can be justly proud of the excellent
cooperation between nations that
has lead to the conservation of such a
wonder ful place.
Mark F Johnson MSc
Land Management Services Germany
Defence Infrastructure Organisation
Sanctuary 44 • 2015
43